Children of Genesis
by timidvoice
Summary: The sequel to Apenndix C opens with Jace, Clary, Derek, Chloe, Simon, and Tori waking in the Edison Group compound. They're trapped, trying to deal with changes worked in them, but if they can't learn control they may be removed permenently.
1. Opening Gambit

Opening Gambit 

"I take it, since you stand before me empty handed, that your attempts to find the Lightwood children have been a failure."

Jonathan Morgenstern glanced up at his father with a flash of annoyance. It wasn't _his_ fault that the brats had found a meddling warlock to help hide them! He had tracked them all over New York City, and that was no small feat. He'd almost had them at that warehouse too, but Bane had interfered. The image of that tall, dark haired girl looking at him in terror swam up, and he smiled. Jonathan could think of a thing or two he'd like to do to her to work off some of this stress.

"I almost had them once, Father," Jonathan answered after a moment. "They've got some warlock helping them; he has wards up to stop me from tracking them. I can't do magic, you know."

Valentine stared at his son dispassionately. "Stop whining, Jonathan. I expect you to see this task through to the end. I'm sure you have some resources you could fall back on to find this warlock."

"But, Father, even if I could find the warlock, he's sure to have cast spells around his home." Jonathan met Valentine's cold stare with a hot look of his own. "Why do we need the Lightwood brats anyway?"

"Are you that much of a fool?" asked Valentine mildly. When Jonathan just looked at him expressionlessly, he clasped his hands together and leaned back in the chair at his desk. "Maryse and Robert want their children back, and if I bring them, the Lightwoods will trust me explicitly. I already have spies in the Clave, people working for our cause, but to have shadowhunters in the outside world with me would greatly help. The Lightwoods would be a great addition to my army." He paused thoughtfully. "Also, I have no doubt that those children are trying to track down Jace and my daughter. They'll know exactly where those two ran off."

Jonathan's lips curled. "And what if the Lightwood children refuse to tell you what they know?"

Valentine sighed, considering his options. "I suppose, though I take no pleasure in it, that I will allow you to question them. I trust you can get some answers from them?"

A grin spread across Jonathan's face and he felt his blood pulse faster. "I'm sure I could work something out."

"I'm happy to heat that," said Valentine swiftly. "Stay here another night and recuperate, but I want you up tomorrow morning. I can't have those children running around the city, looking for my daughter."

This seemed to unsettle Jonathan. "But where am I supposed to start?"

"Figure out where the warlock lives," he said simply. "I'm sure the Lightwoods are with him; they're certainly not out wandering the streets alone." A smile quirked his lips. "Wouldn't that be a sight? Three shadowhunters, highly trained, waiting tables or deep frying food, or whatever Mundane children do to make a living."

"No," Jonathan said, running over plans in his mind. "No, they're with the warlock. I'll figure out where he lives and pull the place apart."

Valentine nodded approvingly. "I'm sure that will suit just find." He rose and headed for the office door. Jonathan didn't move, but continued running over options. "Oh, and Jonathan, don't _kill _the poor children. At least not yet."

Jonathan watched his father leave and nodded, eyes sparkling in a sinister fashion. "I'm sure I'll manage something."

* * *

><p>It was a miserable sight. Almost too unbearable.<p>

Isabelle was slumped over a chair in the kitchen of Lyle House, tears running down her cheeks. Beside her, holding her hand tightly and shaking as he sobbed, was Max. He'd been confused at first, because the house was so empty. He'd thought that they must have just come into the wrong house by accident, but no, this was Lyle House. He'd kept asking for Jace, asking to know where he was, but when no answered, Max finally understood. Now, the aftershocks of loss crashed down on his nine year old shoulders.

_Come on, _Isabelle told herself firmly, trying to get a grip on her emotions. _You're a shadowhunter, a warrior; you're better than this. Get up, Isabelle Lightwood, get up and salvage what you can. _

It took a few minutes for Isabelle to take her own advice, and when she did, it was only to lift her face from the chair back and stare around the kitchen. It was painted soft yellow with white flower designs, and lit by the sun that poured in through the large glass windows. There was a counter that ran along one wall with an implanted washer and oven. On the adjacent wall was a refrigerator, humming softly. The table was still set with placemats and a bowl of fruit.

Isabelle rose from the chair, shaking, and walked the length of the room, running her hand along the tile countertop. She paused before the sink where the washed dishes were sitting in a rake, still damp. She touched a plate and wondered if Jace or Clary had recently eaten off this plate. Had they had dinner before being packed up and shipped off to the Edison Group? Were they hungry right now?

She bit her lip hard to stop the tears that threatened.

"Izzy." Isabelle spun around to find Alec in the door way of the kitchen. He looked diminished, like a light had been put out in him. "Magnus and I were going to search the house, you know, to see if there's anything left. If you would rather wait outside with Max…"

"No!" Max wailed, springing up. "I'm not waiting outside. I want to know what happened."

"Max-"

"No, Alec," Isabelle said firmly though her throat tightened. "I want to see this place. I want to know how Jace and Clary lived…" Her voice wobbled off dismally. She took a deep breath. "We'll all search the house."

Alec shrugged. He really didn't have the energy or the will to try and stop his siblings. "Alright. Well, we saw the kitchen, let's try the T.V. room."

It was a miserable expedition for everyone, even Magnus. The television room was homey and warm, with worn furniture and soft blankets, and a door to the backyard. There were pillows lumped on cozy couches, and shelf full of children's movies. The carpet was thick and soft, like someone could sit there and watch hours and hours of movies. But it was slightly off kilter, and all they could think about was Jace's letters. How he'd said they were forced to live a normal life.

A quick search of the room gave nothing, and they passed to the next room that faced the front lawn. It was painted the favored color of Lyle House, pale yellow, and, to everyone's surprise, lined with three rows of desks. There were bookshelves of English and mathematics, science, and history, and the wall that faced the desks had a blackboard mounted on it. Two large windows gave a beautiful view of the lawn, but when Alec tried to open one he found it securely locked. He glanced back to the desks, where Jace and Clary and all the others must have sat, and then back to windows that wouldn't even open. They couldn't even get a fresh breeze; trapped inside a cage.

Magnus provided the search of the class room because Isabelle and Alec were too lost in thought. They had spent many days in the library at the Institute with Jace, laughing and learning, but this was all wrong. Alec couldn't picture Jace locked in a room, staring at a blackboard. Max gave up trying to be brave and asked if Isabelle would carry him. Wordlessly, she lifted him up and left the room to search the downstairs bathroom.

The first floor provided nothing, and none of them felt brave enough to explore the basement where Jace had said was a makeshift lab. They headed up, past pleasant pictures of landscapes and sunny walls, to a long hallway that offered up six bedrooms and a bathroom.

All the rooms were the same; they found all small squares with one bed, a dresser, a closet, a desk, and a window that refused to be opened. Each bed was made properly, the closet cleaned and hung with waiting hangers, the floors swept and the desks organized. Isabelle wondered which one her brother had lived in.

It was so desolate, so empty. It was strange to pass all these rooms that children should have lived in, should have laughed in, played in, loved in, and find them devoid of people. When they reached one of the last rooms on the house front, Max yelped from Isabelle's arms. He was pointing frantically at the floor, spewing incomprehensive words. Isabelle started and followed his fingers.

There, on the run before the bed, was a glint in the sun. Isabelle knelt beside it and gasped in surprise and elation. It was a silver ring, a sliver ring with stars along the band. The Morgenstern ring. Jace's ring, passed down, father to son.

"Jace!" she cried, and Alec came shooting into the room, eyes with a manic light.

"What?" he rasped, eyeing roving around the room.

"I found his ring! Jace's ring. We can trace him with it! Magnus!" Isabelle was dancing around, waving the ring in the light. "Max, you're brilliant. I would never have seen it." She kissed him all over his cheeks, and Max smiled, tears drying in his eyes.

"What, what now?" Magnus moaned, coming in after Alec.

"We found Jace's ring!" She brandished the ring before his eyes. "Can you track him with it?"

Magnus snatched the ring from her hands. "Let me check the ring. I'll be in the kitchen." Magnus vanished in a flash and Isabelle, Alec, and Max looked to each other with dazzling smiles. There was hope, faint hope, but hope.

"So this is where Jace lived," Alec said after a moment, studying the room. The bed was pressed against the wall, the rising sun light falling on it. It was such a small room, like an itty bitty cage. Alec moved to the window. It gave the view of the sloping lawn, flower beds, and the road beyond. Freedom had been so close. "I think Jace would have liked the view."

Isabelle roved around it. She hated it. All of it. She thought of Jace with his blades drawn, energy pulsing through him, killing demons. He didn't belong locked in a room like this, this small little chamber with the locked windows and the teasing view. Furious, Isabelle kicked the bed.

"Izzy!" Alec said sharply.

"I hate this place, Alec!" Isabelle snarled, and then stormed out of the room. She crossed to the one on the other side of the hall, and kicked the door in. It was a room the same as Jace's, with the same bed and the same promising view. Isabelle and Max roamed around the room, knocking things out of place aimlessly.

"Izzy," Alec said softly, following her into the room. "Stop doing this."

Isabelle glared at Alec and grabbed a pillow off the bed and chucked it across the room. Max laughed as Alec ran to grab it. It hit the wall with thud that made some of the down in it poof out, and slid to the floor. As he bent to pick it up, Alec caught a glimpse of something under the bed. He frowned and Isabelle sighed.

"Alec, it just a pillow!" she groaned exasperatedly.

"There's something under the bed, Izzy." Alec braced himself against the foot board and pulled hard on it. "Grab it."

Isabelle crawled across the bed and patted her hand behind the bed until she made contact with a thick leather something. Carefully, as if cradling a baby, Isabelle pulled the thing out and found she was holding a book. She carefully undid the clasp as Alec and Max joined her. The cover fell open and the first page had the name Clarissa Morgenstern and a date scribbled on it.

"What is this, Alec?"

"Clary's book," he said simply. "Open it."

Isabelle flipped the first page and was greeted by a burst of color and shadow. It was another of Clary's painted pictures, and so were the next and the next. Each page was like a chapter of a story. Her story.

The first page was of Clary and Jace, sitting in the back of a car, side by side. They each wore strained smiles and had their hands in their laps, clenched into fists. It was the fists that caught Isabelle and Alec's eyes. The rest of the picture was pleasant; there was sun outside the car and a glow on the paint that seemed to lighten the eyes. But why the fists?

Alec thought of the other picture Clary had left. The one with the hidden runes that left a new image before them. Had Clary left them another clue in here? He began to study the picture, eyeing the corners and the shadows where Clary might have hidden the rune. But there was nothing. He sighed.

"What is it?" Isabelle asked, still staring at the picture.

"I was sure Clary left a rune on here that would change the picture, but I can't find it." Alec looked from Isabelle to Max. "There's gotta be a rune here."

The three fell on the painting. It was hard to focus on finding a rune when they were faced with the boy the considered their brother and his girlfriend. He looked so happy in the picture, so relaxed and carefree.

"There!" Max said suddenly, pointing to the lower left corner where Clary's legs vanished into the car. It was hard to see, just a small glimmerspell, but it was there.

As if the rune knew it had been found, it glowed with a white light that rippled out over the page. When the white light melted away it left behind a new picture.

"What the hell was going on here?" Isabelle whispered.

It was still a picture of Jace and Clary sitting in the back seat of a car, but it was drastically different. Except for the fists. Jace and Clary were tied hand and foot in the picture with plastic restraints, they had gags in their mouth, and wide terrified eyes. It was a night sky with no stars, no moon, just black nothingness. The darkness was reflected in the children's eyes, in their anger and their fear. Jace's hands were clamped so tightly together that his hands were bleeding from the plastic. Clary was leaning against him, trying to hide against his side.

The three Lightwoods exchanged dark glances and turned to the next page.

Clary had left the rune in the same place for every picture, and once they found it, the same white light rippled over the drawing and offered a new view. But none of the pictures seemed to get better than the first. In fact, they got worse and worse.

The next was of Clary, standing in a cheery basement with yellow walls and a washer and dryer. She was leaning against a wall, her red hair hanging wild around her face. Her eyes were wider than usual, hectic spots of red on her cheeks. Just like the fists, it was the red spots on Clary's cheeks that drew their attention.

When the picture changed, Clary was still there. She was pressing against the wall in terror, her mouth open in a silent scream. Before her was a metal table with straps hanging from the sides. On the walls was a large assortment of medicals tools, glinting nastily in the low light. And in the corner of the drawing was a woman with a large needle in her hand, eyes pitch black and glowing. The shadows in the room were churning with horrible images, nightmares come to life.

On the following page was a boy no one knew. He was tall and well built, darker skinned with a shock of thick curling black hair. His eyes were so green they were almost glowing, like a dog's in the dead of night. He had a strong face with fine cheek bones and an attractive scowl. Isabelle thought he was darkly handsome and rather striking.

When the image turned Isabelle bit back an angry curse. The boy was there, but he'd been consumed by something wild. It was huge black wolf, snarling viciously at them. His fangs glinted white in the sharp light and his lips were curled back to reveal pink gums. It was the eyes that were the same, the same glowing green, burning with a furious fire. It was the boy, just in wolf form.

The wolf was tied down to a cement floor with a thick chain that wound around his neck. There were scraps in the floor from where the wolf had dug his claws in, and a pool of blood that was dribbling down from his ruff and onto the floor. The wolf looked desperate and angry, terrified and determined.

"That must be Derek," Alec said softly, staring at the wolf. "Remember, Jace said he was werewolf."

"Derek." Isabelle tried his name out. She could almost smile about it.

"Don't even think about it, Izzy," Alec warned. "He's an unstable werewolf."

"I wasn't thinking about that," Isabelle snapped back, even though she was. Her eyes ran over the many pages left. "Here, there's more."

On the next page was a very pretty girl, Isabelle thought. And she couldn't help but feel a flash of annoyance. She was just like Clary, small with great big eyes and cute as a button. Her hair was the color of apricots and straight as a ruler. She was sitting at the kitchen table, leaning against a chair, twisting the sun dress she was wearing so it covered her knees in her position. She wasn't smiling, but her face was set in a beautifully calm visage.

Alec flinched when the image changed. The girl was there, but she was wearing black rags, her hair hanging in limp strands around her eyes. She was staring up from the chair helplessly, her hands bound by strange black somethings to the chair back. She was straining against them, but it was making no difference. Black shadows were coming down on her, ghostly hands reaching out, grabbing her. There was a tear running down her cheek. Alec turned away violently, recognizing the girl as Chloe.

The next picture was a boy with blond hair and brown almond shaped eyes. He was reclining on a couch, very relaxed, the sun hitting his hair. But when the real picture appeared, it was the same boy, same couch, but with a thick black band bound around his wrist. There were little white shocks running up his arms. He wasn't relaxed anymore, he was curled up on himself in a climax of pain.

Another picture showed a girl with shot black hair painting her nails in the sunny bathroom. Then, after a flash of white, it was the same girl bent over, tied to the sink with a chain, washing the floor with a bucket and sponge. Her hands were red from scrubbing, her face flecked with dirt. Her eyes were big and round and reflecting pain and humiliation, and her shoulders were strained with the tension of hard work.

Picture after picture, the children seeming happy once, and then curled up on the floor. The children tied up, with bruises, with people coming at them with needles, with fear written all over their faces. Isabelle, Alec, and Max were finding it harder and harder to keep turning pages. They'd only seen the one of Jace, but they were sure Clary had drawn one, and that when they found it, it would be terrible.

And they did find one, and it was.

At first, they saw Jace standing in his bright room, sunlight streaming in through the window. His hair was glowing more golden than ever, his eyes burning like the sun, and a small smirk curling his lips. It was strange to see him in normal clothes when they'd always seen him in black. Now, in a pair of jeans and a red tee shirt with some brand name running up the side, it was just weird.

Alec eyed the rune, sketched in the floor, and they saw the new Jace. He was still in his room, but now he was behind a row of metal bars. He was in a cage. And his hair had grown wild and curlier. It was almost like a lion's mane, the way the sun hit it. His eyes were upturned now, like a cat, and he had little white fans bared. There was a collar around his neck, chained to the headboard of his bed. It was hard to miss that scowl that was so like Jace, but even harder to understand the pain in his eyes. Clary had painted him looking uncertain. Looking scared and on the verge of attacking the bars. It was hard to believe it was Jace.

Isabelle and Alec exchanged a look while Max traced Jace's face. Nothing was right about this. Jace wasn't an animal.

"Alec," Isabelle said, shifting Max onto her lap to hug him firmly. "We have to find these kids. Whatever was going on here, it's gotta stop. We can't leave Jace and Clary to this. They're like…our siblings!"

Alec closed the book with a snap. "I know. We'll get them back."

* * *

><p>"Have the children been moved?"<p>

There was a long pause over the phone while voices on the other end shouted back and forth. The sharp sound of metal being dragged across metal rang out, and then there was wheezy cough.

"Yes, Mrs. Enright. We're moving them into their new quarters as we speak. By the time you get here they should be awake and ready for…for whatever plans you've got." Davidoff hated admitting that the plans of the Board of Directors weren't his general knowledge.

"Excellent, I was worried that the shadowhunter boy would cause problems, but I suppose he's finally come to reason." Enright sounded pleased with herself.

"Well, he loves the little red head. I don't think he'd risk anything if her life were on the line. After we let him next to her he calmed down and let us drug him." Davidoff paused for a moment, considering the boy. "I don't think he'll be causing us any more problems."

"He'd better not, or we'll have to put him down." Enright laughed. "We can't have him losing his wits about the place."

"Well, he needs to have a chance to exercise his abilities again. I think keeping him and Derek locked up was giving them unnatural stress. Once we let them out more, let Jace burn off some of the frustration, he'll settle down like we want."

Enright tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear as she drove. "I think he needs a reminder of where he is and why he's there. When he wakes up give him a tour of the facilities. Especially the hospital laboratory." She paused as she changed lanes. "In fact, take them all one by one around. Let them see just how little chance they have escape. It'll help them adjust."

"Alright, Enright." Davidoff cleared his throat. "Listen, there's a problem down in Ward C. I have to go. When you get here we can talk more at length."

"Excellent."


	2. Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes 

Everything was coming in blurry memories. Pieces of a dream that slipped through Clary's fingers like sand. She tried to focus on one single thing, tried to link images together to give her something to hold on to. But it was a fruitless endeavor. Clary's mind just couldn't grasp what went before her.

She was in the back of a van, her hands and feet bound painfully together. Slouched against the walls of the rumbling van were other children. Clary curled up in a ball of terror because she couldn't remember why she was bound or why she was in the van. She faded out of consciousness, aware only of heart wrenching loneliness.

The van hit a large bump and Clary was jostled vaguely back to the living world. Her hands were still tied up, and she couldn't remember where she was going. But the van hit another mound in the road and Clary was thrown to the side. She landed against a lean warm body. Her eyes roved up uncertainly, and she was staring at boy who looked familiar. He had a fine boned face and golden curling hair, and in his sleep, he seemed like an innocent fallen angel.

A name came to Clary before she passed out again. It sent shivers down her spine and warm tingling grew in her belly. _Jace,_ she thought before her eyes closed.

Bright light. Blinding light. It was invading the warm, comforting darkness of the van. A breeze blew in, chilling Clary. She was shivering against Jace, who stirred slightly by her, and gazed at her with cloudy pale yellow eyes. Then there were shapes in the light, vague frightening shapes; and the shapes drew in toward them like wraiths. Clary frantically shook her head, trying to speak, to call for help, but no sound escaped her mouth. They reached out horrible white hands for her. Clary was roiling in terror, clawing at the wall of the van. She didn't know who they were, but they were dragging the other children away. Clary managed to grab hold of Jace, who was frowning in a confused way.

Then Clary felt hands on her legs, dragging her to the light at the end of the van. She was struggling as much as she could, bucking and kicking. She was crying, sobbing in confusion, as they hauled her into the cold light. Clary looked up and saw bright light, and beyond that, stars cart wheeling like mad. She was gagging on her own sobs.

"Stop…top…op…" She heard a voice all over her; it snarled and then faded into nothing.

Something sat her in a chair, pressing her against the back. A hand holding a rag wiped her face of the tears and held her chin so she was forced to breathe through her mouth. Clary felt and pair of hands take her wrists and place them on arms of the chair, and then felt pressure on her wrists. She couldn't find Jace…she was alone.

The sound of shrieking rusty metal woke her for a final time. Clary was moving forward down a long shadowy hall. There were lights on the sides, but they just barely fought back the dark. She was in a wheelchair, she knew that. The squeaking metal was the wheels protesting movement. Her wrists were strapped down to the arms of the chair and her legs were still bound together. Her heart was beating faster and harder than ever. She couldn't remember where she was or where she was going; only that she was alone and tied down.

"P-p-" _Just say the word. _"P-pl-please-"

But there was no answer. No one seemed to care how scared she was, how wrong all this was. She barely knew herself anymore.

The last moments of Clary's waking memory were the strangest. She was lifted up, and into a very dark room. So dark she couldn't even see her hands before her face. It was warm, balmy and silent, and when she was lowered down, the ground was soft and springy like a bed. The restraints on her ankles were cut and someone draped a blanket over her. She looked up to see who, to see anything, but all she saw was the stars like tiny pinpricks in the black…

"Clary, Clary, please, for the love of God, wake up," said a voice urgently in Clary's ear. She stirred restlessly and struggled to pull herself into the waking world. "Come on, wake up."

It was like treading water, except the water was her nightmares. She saw flashes of the van ride, of the light and the wraiths dragging her away, and the wheelchair ride. But the voice, she needed to reach the voice; she knew that voice, it was the most important voice in the entire world.

"Jace…" she murmured, twitching and turning in her half awakened senses.

"Yes, Clary," Jace said softly, cupping her cheeks gently. "Yes, it's me."

Clary's eyes fluttered open and she was staring up at Jace. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Jace admitted, his eyes darkening. "I mean, we're at the Edison Group, but I don't know where. Or," he looked around uncertainly, "what."

"What do you mean?"

Jace sighed and lifted Clary up to the sitting position so she could see the room. "I mean look around you."

Clary had never been a room so… silly. She supposed she must have been in a nursery like it when she was a toddler, but she was sixteen!

The room was circular with padded walls that stretched up fifteen feet before turning into flat metal. In the very upper reaches of the room were small windows that just barely let in a light of the rising sun. In the frail light Clary was able to see the room around her. The floor was soft and spongy as if it was made of mattresses, and was covered in a wide assortment of toddlers' toys. There were piles of plush animals, some as tall as Clary and as wide as Derek. Pastel balls rolled around aimlessly. Great big throw pillows had been tossed here and there along the walls, making imposing mountains of frilliness. Wicker baskets of thick blankets were littered around the room. In the corner nearest Clary was a small alcove that had been created by large bookshelves that concealed three bean bag chairs. Looking up, Clary saw that the ceiling had been painted to look like a blue sky with a speckling of clouds. At the moment though, since it was still early, the sky was in shadow and a dusting of lights used to represent stars was glowing. In the distance, Clary heard lullaby music.

"What is this place?" Clary asked, eyes lingering on a stuffed animal bear that stood taller than her.

"Our new apartments, I guess," Jace muttered. "I don't know why they'd put us here, of all places. We're not babies." He seemed to chafe at being trapped in a place for children, but, then again, Jace had never really been a child. Since he was old enough to speak he'd been training as a shadowhunter. Clary didn't know how Jace was going to survive here. "There must be a way out of here, but I haven't looked around."

"Really?" Clary glanced at him in surprise. Usually he'd be the first the run a reconnaissance.

Jace looked ruefully down at his legs. "The drug hasn't worn off quite yet. I can't stand up very well."

Clary blinked and very carefully tried to roll onto her feet. Jace watched her cautiously, hand gripping hers very tightly. Clary felt her weight shift onto her feet, and the moment she did, she was hit with a crippling numbness. Her legs couldn't support her weight and she pitched forward helplessly. She landed with a muffled thump on the floor and bounced back.

"Okay, I shouldn't have done that," Clary groaned, knocking a limp legged horse plush out of the way.

Jace smiled slightly. "You reminded me a new born kitten."

Clary rolled up onto her knees and crawled over to Jace. "I guess we just have to wait until it wears off. Grab that blanket."

Jace stretched out and pulled a basket overflowing with blankets over. He pulled out the biggest quilt he could find and wrapped it around him and Clary comfortably. They reclined onto the floor and pressed their bodies against each other helplessly, watching as the sun rose in the real sky so far away.

When the sun had risen high enough to fill the room with light, and the stars on the ceiling had lost their glow, Jace felt a tingling in his legs. He flexed the muscles experimentally and moved them around. The feeling returned quickly and Jace carefully clambered up and onto his legs. They were wobbly and uncertain, like a foal's, but he leaned against the wall and walked around. A moment later and Clary was trailing after him.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked.

"I don't know-"

"Clary!" chirped a voice from behind the nearest mountain of pillows. "Clary, help me. I can't move."

"Chloe," Clary called back. "Chloe we're coming." She straggled over to the pillows, her feet tangling around each other. "Can you move, Chloe?"

"Barely," she groaned, and Clary saw the pillows shift around. Then, the small figure of Chloe came clambering around the pillows. She was switching between sitting and straddling the pillows to move. "Where are we?"

"A nursery," said a gruff voice.

Chloe spun about and couldn't help when she reached out for Derek, who was lumbering unsteadily on his feet. He, of all the children, seemed to be able to walk without the assistance of a wall. He was almost to Chloe when she spoke, and it seemed to urge him onward frantically. He took a step too quickly and he stumbled, fumbling into the pillows beside her.

Chloe shrieked, Derek howled, and Jace snorted. "Well done," Clary giggled softly.

"I don't see you walking," Derek growled, eyeing Jace with a frown. But anyone could see that he was relieved.

Jace sneered and then climbed carefully to the pillows. "So, we're in a nursery?"

Derek was focusing his attentions on Chloe, who was shaking as the drug began to wear off. He was holding her gently in the crook of his arms. Vaguely, he glanced up and said, "Yes. When me and the other werewolf pups were very young they kept us in here. It wasn't as full of toys because we ripped them up, but it's the same place. I remember the ceiling." He paused, looking around with a curling lip. "They probably stuck us in here for psychological reasons."

Jace seemed skeptical. "Psychological? We're unstable genetically so the antidote is to make us play with toys and live in a nursery."

Derek shook his head; he obviously understood the thinking of the scientists. "In a way, yes. They think that the best way to keep us calm and stop us from going crazy is to have us in highly unstressed, relaxed surroundings. As people, we were most relaxed when we were children. So, naturally, the best place to keep us is in a nursery."

"But-but they can't keep us in here?" Clary asked uncertainly. She wasn't sure what they could do.

Derek glanced around. "There used to be a door on the far wall that led to a spare room. They used to put us there if we misbehaved. Maybe they'll let us in there once in a while."

"That's not what I meant," Clary grumbled, but hers, and everyone else's eyes, roamed the far wall. "But, do you think they're going to let us outside?"

"Outside?" Derek seemed surprised by the word. "I don't think they'll let us see natural light again. This place is huge."

The four sat in silence for a moment. It was hard to think of anything good to say when they were faced with an eternity of florescent lights and manufactured air. Not to mention the terrifying experiments that Dr. Davidoff had discussed earlier. The children had forced themselves to forget the idea, but now, trapped in nursery with no one but each other, it was hard to press it back. Was that what the spare room was for now? Would they have to pair up together?

As one, the four looked up and met each other's eyes. They were all thinking the same thing.

"What do you think they're waiting for?" Chloe asked. "Why haven't they come for us?"

"We have to adjust to our surroundings," Jace said bitterly.

"This place is weird," Chloe said softly. "I feel like someone is gonna come in and make us put on diapers or something." She laughed uncertainly. "How are we supposed to pass the time here?"

"Playing doll house," Jace suggested.

"Jace," Clary said seriously.

They lapsed into silence for a time, and then a pale pink ball soared through the air and bounced off the pillow pile. When they turned to see where the ball had come from, they saw Simon try to crawl out of an alcove made of plushies. He sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"What the hell is going on here, bro?" They watched at Simon padded over, his legs moving slowly like he was in water. He saw them watching and scowled. "Not gonna help?"

"Not like they can," Tori called from behind them. She was prancing around like a fawn. "We're all fighting the effects of a drug."

Eventually, Simon and Tori managed to reach the pillow and they panted heavily while they rested. Derek checked Simon's pulse to make sure he was okay.

"Now, you were saying?" Simon said, looking to Jace.

"That we can play dollhouse. Do you wanna be my husband?"

Simon made a face. "Always knew you wanted me." He shook his head and laughed. "Here's a thought. How about we make a…a, I don't know, a fort or-or something, that we can hide in when the doctors come?"

Jace raised his eyebrows. "That's not too bad."

"We could make it out of pillows," Chloe said thoughtfully. "There's got to be hundreds in here."

There was a round of agreement, and, carefully, so they didn't fall, the children spread out to drag pillows over. Derek managed to haul the huge bear over to the part of the room where they were piling pillows. Using the bear as a support beam of sorts, they stacked the pillows up and around it, making semi-stable walls. It was a hard thing to build, especially when the children couldn't balance, but after what must have been hours, they had a structure that was vaguely a fort. It was very low to the floor, low enough that the children would have had to crawl on their hands and knees to enter. It was just big enough, though, for all six children to squeeze in.

"It's like a rabbit hole," Simon said with a lopsided smile.

"You said it, Peter," Tori shot back.

Jace stared at her. "His name is Simon."

Tori sniggered into her hand while Jace stared, confused. Derek took pity on him. "She's talking about Peter Rabbit. You now, he went into Mr. McGregor's garden when his mother told him not to?"

"No, I don't know," Jace said blankly.

"Well, I'm sure the book is here somewhere," Clary murmured, squeezing Jace's arm. "I can't find it, if you'd like."

"No, that's okay," he said. "Should we get out of sight?" He eyed the makeshift fort doubtfully, but his eyes roamed about once, as if he were searching for something. Or someone.

"I'll go first," Clary said bravely, picking up a blanket before she went in.

Clary crawled in, and almost at once, the temperature rose. She tucked herself in as far as she could, until her small body was up against the bear. She waited with baited breath for Jace to come, but Chloe came next, and then Tori, there eyes strangely frantic. The boys seemed to be forcing the girls in swiftly. There were voices, a rushed argument.

"What's happening?" Clary asked at once, seeing Chloe stare back terrified.

"On the far side the wall started to move. It's a door. Someone's coming in." She glanced at Tori, who was listening carefully. "The boys pushed us in."

"What, are they gonna fight?" Clary demanded.

"No," Tori said sharply. "They're boys. They want to be the last to go in. You know, be brave."

Clary could very easily imagine Jace forcing Derek and Simon to retreat first. "Jace!" Clary called, and she knew he heard her. She waited patiently. He would come, he wouldn't leave her. "Jace!"

There was a scuffle and then Clary saw Jace's hair. "Clary, please, I'm fine."

"Jace," she growled, and he clambered over to her reluctantly. Clary nestled up against him and frowned. "I don't care about you being brave; I care about having you with me."

Jace rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. Simon came in next, and then they heard a fierce growl, and Derek pushed his way in. The fort was very suddenly full with all six bodies pressing together. Derek had grabbed Chloe and tucked her onto his lap, lips curled back in a snarl. His eyes were very wolf, their pupils turned up wildly. Tori had fallen back by Jace and Clary, breathing hard, and Simon was closest to the entrance, stuffing the blanket Clary had brought into the mouth.

For a minute they heard nothing. The children were in dark warmth, breathing in each other's fear. They were pressing against each other, tense and waiting. It really was like a rabbit hole, the air so thick with the waiting terror of a hunted rabbit.

Then the silence was broken by a curt cough.

"Davidoff," Simon breathed.

They heard him strolling through the nursery, laughing at the toys splayed out. He kicked something out of the way, and then began to approach their fort. As one, all six of the children crawled backward, pressing as far back as they could. Jace and Derek wrapped themselves around Chloe and Clary. They waited for Davidoff to pull the fort apart and laugh at them.

He didn't.

"Children," he said, and they could hear the smile in his voice. "I know you're in there. We can see you. There is a camera in this room." He paused and Clary was strangely paralyzed by fear. Was he going to drag Jace away? Was he going to make her do something she didn't want to? Were they all about to be taken to a laboratory to be experimented on? "I'm not going to hurt you; I won't even try and get you out of there. I want you to be relaxed, and if you feel safe in there, well, then that's how it will be. That's why we have you in here. You're supposed to feel safe. If you want to make this whole room into a fort, do it. No one will stop you." Again, he paused, this time to cough. The sound grated Chloe's ears, unnerving her. "Tomorrow I'd like to take you to see the rest your the quarters, but it can wait. We'll feed you today in here, in about an hour, and there is a bathroom you can use if you'd like. There's a door by the bookshelves. Relax and enjoy yourselves, I'll see you tomorrow."

Dr. Davidoff left as simply as he had come, but the aftershocks of his arrival swept through the children. They remained tucked in their fort, eyes wide and mouths forming silent words. None of them knew why they were so frightened, though Derek suspected it might have been the drugs wearing off, but they decided to cover the hole completely with the blanket and spend the rest of the day there. Away from the prying eyes of the camera and the doctors, they could curl up in fear, overcoming the drug that was fighting to hold them.


	3. Welcoming Party

Welcoming Party 

Chloe decided she felt, for the first time in many months, that she was safe. Tucked away in their den, under layers of pillows and wrapped in Derek's arms, was probably the best place she could be. It was as though the world and all its cruelties were far beyond her. In the den she couldn't be touched by those troubles, by mad scientists, or careless doctors, or the waiting dead.

Just the thought of dead made Chloe's stomach ache and her mind reel. She pressed herself against Derek, as if she could spend the rest of her life there, in the circle of his arms. She didn't want to face what waited for her beyond the pillows.

Derek stirred in his sleep and his eyes fluttered open. He was distinctly human, with normal green eyes and sleep tousled hair. Chloe almost forgot that he was werewolf. Derek saw her staring up into her eyes and smiled lazily. "Morning, Chloe. You look nice."

"I bet," she said mulishly, trying to scowl at his growing smile. "You look pretty pleased yourself."

Derek squeezed Chloe against him harder. "I have plenty of reason to be."

Chloe smiled, but she couldn't quite push the fear that had been nibbling at her stomach away. Her eyes darted to the entrance of their den. "Do you think their waiting?"

Derek's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head slightly, listening closely for any sounds. "There's no one there now, but Davidoff said they'd leave us alone for a day. They'll probably come around noon for us." He saw Chloe's eyes widen. "I won't let him near you."

"What do you think they'll do with us?" Her voice shrunk to a squeak.

Derek very quickly went from human boy to dangerous wolf. Chloe saw his eyes change, glowing in the dark, and his lips curl back in a snarl. "Nothing for now. They want us to be happy. But I think that given a week or so we'll find ourselves on the receiving end of some experiment."

"Do you think what Davidoff told us at Lyle House was true?" Derek looked at her curiously. "You know, about the whole _fertility _thing?" She felt a flush in her cheeks. She hated it, but she couldn't think of a better way to say it.

"Yes," Derek said in a beat.

Chloe's blush deepened and she looked down; she couldn't face Derek like this. "I hope they give us time."

"I don't know, Chloe," Derek murmured softly. "I mean, it's not like we can go anywhere." He fell into silence as his thoughts darkened. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run, and no one to run to. Something in the warm darkness shifted and Derek's eyes darted toward it. It was Clary, struggling with an invisible foe fitfully. She whined weakly and her eyes twitched; Jace came to quickly and tightened his grip on her.

"Clary," he said softly. "Clary, it's okay. Stop it. No one's going to hurt you." He stroked her face gently, and Clary's eyes fluttered open.

"Jace," she whispered, not wanting to disturb the peaceful silence. "They were holding me down on a table, they had needles, they were trying to stab me, and I was screaming and screaming and no one would stop and…"

Jace kissed her firmly to stop the flow of terror, and she relaxed into his arms. "There's no one here. I promise." He smiled at her warmly. "And if there were, I wouldn't let them near you." He felt Clary shudder, but she drew her legs up so he could envelop her completely. Jace shifted so he could accommodate her new position better, and laughed softly. "You look so…" He scrunched his nose at the word. "…adorable."

"Thanks," Clary said, not really feeling adorable. She felt tired and scared and hot. Like she was suffocating in their small protective building. "You look like you always do."

"Ridiculously chiseled good looks?" Jace asked raising an eyebrow.

"Pompous, arrogant, bighead might be closer to the mark," Derek said in a muffled voice. Jace shot him a quick look, but felt his lips turn up slightly. It was odd that he'd only known Derek for such a short time and had already come to accept him like a brother.

"Don't think I've heard bighead recently," Jace mused. He stretched a little, still holding Clary in his arms. "What time do you think it is?"

"Late," Clary mumbled from the ring of Jace's arm. "They've probably got food out there."

No one moved, though all four of them turned to look at the entrance to their den. They could see the light of the nursery, tainted a soft shade of pink and yellow. In the distance, Derek could hear the lullaby music playing. The illusion of safety was making them all push farther and farther back into their fort. They were only safe there.

"Oh, I'll go if none of you think you can."

The four spun about and saw Tori dislodging herself from the wall of pillows and Simon. She was eyeing the entrance with dislike, but her eyes were set. For Tori, it was never easy to be around these people who constantly distrusted her. She wanted to prove that she was their friend, and, maybe, a part of her wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't like her mom.

"Tori, you don't have to." Simon had woken and we looking at her intently.

"I know that. But those four especially have something to lose by being caught," she replied swiftly, crawling for the exit. "If it's okay, I'll call you out in a minute."

Tori squeezed past the other five children and out of the fort. She paused for a moment on the threshold of their fort, almost like a rabbit before it leaves the safety of the den, then she clambered out into the open.

The nursery was just as it had always been. The toys were still littered all over the room, the extra pillows still piled up, and the blankets still tossed about. The ceiling was now completely starless, showing instead a big yellow sun and a blue sky. From the windows at the very top of the wall came the glow of real world sun. In the center of the room was a small grouping of plates with sandwiches and crackers. But there were no doctors.

"It's okay to come out, guys," she tossed over her shoulder before heading for the food.

The other five came out slowly, scanning the room for any dangers. Derek seemed to believe that Tori was most likely to lie than any. He kept his hold on Chloe steady as they joined Tori.

"Nice of them to feed us, huh?" asked Simon. "You think they'd just starve us till we did what they wanted."

"You don't know they won't, Simon. But for now, I think they want us comfortable," Derek said, sniffing at the food. "I don't know if it's drugged or not."

"It doesn't matter," Jace said swiftly, taking a large bite out of a turkey sandwich. "We have no way of getting food, so we'll eat whatever we're given."

The others nodded in agreement and ate silently, too wrapped up in their own dark thoughts. The room was oddly peaceful, but it didn't bring the children any comfort. They knew they were being watched, and they knew it wouldn't be possible to fight any of the doctors off if they came. Derek and Jace were constantly vigilant, listening and looking for any sign of intruders.

Just as the plates emptied of sandwiches a husky voice broken their peace. "Children, I see you've come from the rabbit hole."

Dr. Davidoff's presence had an amazing effect on the children. Derek, Jace, and Simon pushed the girls behind them, throwing out their arms protectively. Clary and Chloe pressed against each other, and Tori froze in her feet, wondering if her mother was about to come. Davidoff seemed amused by their reaction.

"Children, children, please, don't panic. Remember, this place is for relaxing, for peace, not for terrifying children." He smiled pleasantly.

"It accomplishes both at the same time," Jace hissed, feeling tension in all his muscles. He was getting ready to spring.

"Jace, you always have had such a sense of humor. Here, though, it's unnecessary," Davidoff approached them slowly. "I'd like you all to come with me, I'd like to give you a tour of your new living quarters and explain your daily schedule."

"I thought we lived here," Derek said slowly. "This is our room."

"It's where you sleep," Davidoff answered, pointing to the wall on their left. "But, there's a door over there that leads to a recreation room, a class room, a larger bathroom, and also, as a treat for our growing boys, a door that lets you go outside. I would like to give you a chance to explore all these areas."

"Can we do it without you?" asked Simon sharply. "I mean, it's not like we can go anywhere."

"While that is true," Davidoff said guardedly. "I would like to be there, just to lay down a few rules as well. And, as I said, you need to know what your schedule will follow. So, if you'd all just follow me…" He directed them to the left, but no one wanted to move. Dr. Davidoff smiled ruefully at their nervousness. "Children, please, I'm not going to hurt you. I just would like to help you."

"You always say help," Tori spat, eyes flashing. "But what you call help is just torture for us. Don't lie to us."

"I'm not lying," Davidoff said simply, turning his back on the children and walking to the door. Under their gaze, he murmured a word, and a section of the wall slid up, revealing a small keypad. Davidoff pushed a number of the buttons, and there was clicking sound as the keypad vanished and a section of the wall fell back. "If you'd like to come with me, we can have a real lunch, not some sandwiches." Davidoff winked and passed through into the dark.

"What do we do?" whispered Chloe, eyeing the door uncertainly. She didn't know what was waiting through there, or who. She tried not to think about doctors and needles and cold metal tables. "Can we trust him?"

"No," said Clary at once. "Of course we can't. For God's sake, he locked Jace in a cage!"

Jace bridled at the memory. "We can't stay here though. Eventually, all that crap Davidoff told us about this being a safe place is going to come to an end. They'll come in here and drag us out, and I don't think a wall of pillows is going to protect us."

For a moment, all the children thought of this. Finally, Simon looked up and sighed. "Jace is right. We can't just wait in here." He swallowed heavily. "Though I don't personally want to be the first in that room."

"I will," said Derek at once.

"Of course you will," said Chloe at once. "You don't need to sacrifice yourself."

"I'm not sacrificing anything," Derek growled. "How can I sacrifice myself here? We're all in the same position."

"Derek-"

"No, Chloe," he said sharply. "Just stay behind me."

Though Chloe tried to stop him, though Simon insisted they go together, Derek insisted on being the first to pass through the door. Simon came second, Chloe trailing him. Jace, who was behind Chloe, had Clary under his arm, and Tori came up the back, as if she was expecting her mother to come up from behind.

"Oh good, you decided to come," Davidoff said happily.

Whatever they were expecting, the room wasn't it. It was, as Davidoff has said, a recreation room. On one wall, a large television was mounted, the screen glowing. Below it was some sort of game station, a DVD player, a VCR, and a large collection of movies and games. There was a large, cushy couch covered in a thick blanket along with chairs and table. Against the wall opposite the door was a bookshelf with _real_ books and a chess set. And in the back section of the room, a pool table and a dining room table were set. The carpet was thick blue, fuzzy on their feet. It was against the pool table that Davidoff was leaning. He seemed pleased by their surprised faces.

"The recreation room. I do hope we managed to get enough things in here for your entertainment. I know the movie collection at Lyle House was wanting, we've tried to provide a few things more your age. If you can think of any you'd like, just tell one of us and we'll see that it's found." He looked around, admiring the pool table. "It's nice?"

"Just wonderful," Derek said for them all.

"The only thing missing is a window," Jace added, eyeing the blank blue walls.

"Well," Davidoff said, grinning sadly, "you know we can't risk you children breaking out. Windows may cause a problem. But don't worry! If you'd just come to the next room."

Davidoff went to the wall by the bookshelf, and there was a door. It wasn't hidden or locked, just waiting to be used. He pushed it open and they saw a little room, well lit, with tiled floors and two doors.

As they passed into it, they saw that against the walls was outdoor equipment. There was a crate full of different balls, a sprinkler system, skates, chalk, and a small shelf with sun block. One wall had an open door that led to what must have been the classroom. The other was locked, but there was a window in the door, and they could see a huge open yard beyond. So they really could go outside.

Almost as one, the children stumbled toward the door.

"Not yet, children," Davidoff chuckled. "Maybe later today, after we've had a little talk. But there's more to see yet."

They left the room slowly, as if the draw of freedom was a physical thing. The next room was a classroom, but not like the one in Lyle House. It was a huge room, one small part dedicated to desks and a blackboard, but the rest open to the extremes. There were shelves and shelves along one wall holding books with titles that definitely didn't hold math problems. Most of the room was open to a training center, with weights, fake weapons, gymnastic equipment, mats, and a number of other exercise gear.

"I hope you like this room," said Davidoff proudly. "It's more geared toward training your gift, though we're still expecting you to continue with some basic studies."

"How long do we spend in here?" Derek asked, staring at the weights. He could us those as a weapon, no doubt."

"Only a few hours," Davidoff shrugged. "Well, this is about all you have to see. If you'd go back to the recreation room we can have lunch and I'll cover your daily schedule."

Davidoff herded the children out of the classroom, past the small room that led outside, and into the room with the television. They all settled at the table, and found that there were two pizzas, soda, and potato chips waiting for them. Again, they were all hesitant of the foods composition, but when Davidoff ate, they decided the food was acceptable. As they ate, Davidoff spoke.

"We'd like you all to sleep in the nursery, or at least stay in there from ten at night until ten in the morning. During that time the door from the nursery will be locked, so we want you in here. After you wake up we'll open the doors and you can have breakfast in the recreation room, shower as you like and relax for a while. The door to the yard outside will open then too. At three, though, you're to go to the classroom where you'll have lessons with private tutors. Those will continue until seven, when you'll be able to have dinner, after dinner, you have more free time."

Jace raised his eyebrow. "So, when in that time do you plan to experiment on us? I didn't hear any 'Laboratory Break' anywhere in there."

"Jace, we're not going to experiment on you," Davidoff said sternly.

"You're going to make us sleep with each other!" he snarled.

"We will determine that. But-" and here, Davidoff's voice lost all kindness "-if you continue to act out like this, the doctors may decide to take action. You might find yourself being drugged and placed in detention."

"So we are in prison," Derek hissed, and his hands clamped onto Chloe.

"Only if you insist making it one. We have separate rooms down a different hall where we'll place you." He raked his eyes over each other them. "We don't want to punish you here."

"Can we see the rest of this building?" Clary asked nervously. "I mean, I like that we have some freedom here, but I still feel caged."

"Perhaps," Davidoff mused. "I'd have to clear it with the others. For right now, you're to remain in here, but I'm sure we might be able to give you a tour."

"Oh, that'll be lovely. Will you tie us to wheelchairs again?" Jace said sardonically.

"If you make us," Davidoff said evenly. "The Edison Group doesn't want to hurt any of you, but you all must realize that you are dangerous to society. Once you accept what you are everything else will follow." He stood then and gave each of the children a serious look. "I'll leave you now, and the rest of the day is yours. We will even open the doors to outside for you. But please," and here, Davidoff seemed solemn, "remember why you're here."

He left then, the children staring after him open-mouthed. When he had passed through the nursery, Tori slammed her hand down on the table and the lights flickered uncertainly.

"What the hell is that about?" she demanded. "One we accept what we are? Maybe _they _should accept what they did to _us_. But then, they'd have to take responsibility for what they did. Forget that part." She stared at her hands, trying to calm herself.

"It's just a bunch of pretty words," Clary said bitterly. "What it means is that we are monsters, and until we admit that, we're also ignorant."

"Well keeping us locked in here won't turn us into angels," said Chloe. "It's like they're repressing us."

"I wish they'd just tell us the truth," Simon admitted, staring off into the distance. "I'd rather be locked in a cell, drugged day and night, than living in this false world. It's like living in a fairy tale…or a nightmare, but either way, we can't get out."

"You got that right, Simon," Derek grumbled. He poked at the slice of pizza on his plate, and then snarled viciously. Very wolf like. "I wonder if they ever plan to let us leave this place. You know, maybe when we're all adults, maybe buy an apartment or something. Just to see how we function in the normal world."

"You know they won't," Chloe said sharply. "We'll be here forever. In this nursery, with toys, and music, and blankets, and a big backyard to play in." Chloe paused, and her skin seemed to glow with cold sweat. She felt energy pulsing through her, and she recognized her powers struggling out. "I _hate_ them!"

This time, when the lights flickered and the plates on the table shook, they knew it wasn't Tori's magic. It was Chloe, her powers reaching for any dead being within miles of the Edison Group, her powers dragging them back to life. It was a wild force that swirled through the room, making the air turn so cold breath came out in clouds and the silence so complete that even a heartbeat was too loud. Something was creeping into the room to join them.

Clary and Jace both felt their stomach's turn as the demon slunk in. Without a weapon, Jace felt strangely defenseless, and he caught Clary's hand and squeezed it tight. "Stop!" he cried out, clutching his stomach. "Get it out of here, Chloe!"

"Please!" Clary begged, feeling things creeping over her skin. "It's hurting us."

Chloe panicked, feeling dead things about her. She saw Jace and Clary were the most affected by the dead, their skin turning pale and clammy. Derek looked like he might be sick. And Simon and Tori were both muttering counter spells under their breath. She reached out for the dead thing, feeling its presence more than seeing it. Chloe focused on it, and began to push it back.

It was a struggle, especially with the rising terror of her friends. She'd breathe in, drawing in as much air as she could, then push it out, pushing the dead thing with it. The dead creature didn't want to leave, Chloe soon found out, and it strained to stay. But, Chloe worked gradually, soon getting the upper hand. She detached from the world of the living and felt herself in that place that wasn't really alive, but certainly wasn't dead. Finally, she threw out her power, and her will with it, and the dead thing snarled and was gone.

Chloe looked up, covered in a cold sweat and shaking terribly. Derek silently stood up and lifted her into his arms. She leaned against him and started sobbing helplessly. She couldn't form words to apologize, but everyone knew what she was trying to say. As Chloe sobbed, Jace glanced around the table at the rest of wide eyed children.

"So this is what we're coming to?" he asked, stood, kicked his chair, and stormed back into the nursery.


	4. Best Interests

Best Interests 

Isabelle found that Max had fallen asleep in his bed pouring over the images in Clary's workbook. He just missed Jace so much that he'd been drawn to the picture, though he had little understanding of what he was looking at. Max didn't understand the hidden message Clary had left. Sure, he'd known that the idea of Jace prowling behind cage bars meant he was imprisoned, but he hadn't understood what was implied.

Really, none of the Lightwoods had, but Magnus had taken one look at the picture and curled his lip back. "Jace as an animal; Clary knows her art."

"What do you mean?" Alec asked, frowning.

"She's saying that Jace is becoming like an animal. That what those experiments did to him is making him dangerous." He turned his head slightly, taking the picture and studying it closer. "Plus, she did a good job with the angles of Jace's face."

"This is serious, Magnus," Alec had said, but he couldn't help but think Magnus was right.

But, Max didn't know, so he curled up in the bed Isabelle had made for him and squeezed the book closer to his chest. Isabelle settled on the bed and pushed his hair off his forehead, humming softly to Max. He turned into her touch as if he knew that his mother was there, protecting him. Isabelle's throat constricted as she realized that Max was recognizing her as his mother. It was tragic that he had lost his mother, but worse that he'd already accepted Isabelle in her place.

Carefully, Isabelle unwound Max's arms and took the art book from him. She very quietly rose and left the room, closing the door softly behind her. He should be asleep for a while, she decided, it was only fair. Isabelle turned down the hall and headed down the stairs to the sitting room Magnus and Alec were waiting in.

"How's Max?" Alec asked. "I know he's been having problems sleeping since Lyle House."

"No, he's fine; sleeping like a log." She flopped down on an open chair and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "You got any coffee, Magnus?"

He smiled toothily and snapped his fingers; three cups of steaming coffee appeared on the between them. "Hope you like cappuccino. Now, we need to figure some things out, and we need to do it pretty soon. What's the deal with the Edison Group?"

"No idea," Alec said at once. "Whoever they are, they want Jace and Clary, and they're not going to give the two up. I think we need to find the compound and do some reconnaissance."

"Hold up, Alec," Magnus said, taking a sip of coffee. "Whoever these people are, they must have a number of powerful warlocks and witches casting charms around it. It'll be incredibly difficult to find the place, let alone get in."

"But you said you'd help us!" Isabelle said fiercely.

"I'm not saying I won't," said Magnus reasonably, throwing his hands up. "It's just that there are some outstanding issues we have to deal with first. I'd like to bring those to light."

Alec and Isabelle caught each other's eyes, and then Alec sighed. "What is it?"

"Aside from my main concern about locating and breaking into the compound, is the issue about Jace and Clary." Magnus lowered his eyes before Alec and Isabelle could figure out what he meant.

"What do you mean?" Isabelle said sharply. "What issue about Jace and Clary?"

"Isabelle," Magnus said softly. "Think about it, please, _think _about it. Jace and Clary were taken by the Edison Group because their genes were altered, because they're considered dangerous to society."

"Jace is _not_ a danger to society!" snapped Isabelle. "He's been defending people since he could pick up a blade. How could you even say-"

"Isabelle! Whatever Jace is now he might not be in a year or two. What if something in him snaps, just like the Edison Group thinks it will? What he goes crazy and starts hurting people? Maybe it's already happening. Think of the picture Clary drew."

"She showed Jace behind bars," Alec murmured tiredly. "That doesn't mean he's a danger."

"Alec, he could be soon," urged Magnus. "We need to keep that in mind. Whatever Jace and Clary are, they might not be forever."

"You can't think the Edison Group is right in what they're doing?" demanded Isabelle.

"They're going about everything in a wrong way, but they're trying to protect humankind from a perceived threat."

"_They_ made Jace and Clary this way," Alec said loudly. "They didn't want to be science experiments. It's not like they have a choice in it."

"I know they don't, but that doesn't mean they'll be able to stop themselves!" Magnus snarled. "And what will you do, Alec, once Jace and Clary are free? What if the best thing really is to keep the two locked away somewhere? What if they really are unstable and they really need medication and therapy?"

"It doesn't mean they belong locked away from everyone they love," whispered Alec helplessly. "We should still try to free them."

"I just want them to be in the best place for their problems." Magnus placed his coffee down carefully. "Jace especially could be an incredible risk. With the training he's had from Valentine, with the mindset Valentine put him in, might easily make him a sociopath."

"No!" Isabelle stood up, furious. "Jace isn't crazy, he's not some homicidal maniac. He's our brother, and we will get him out of there."

"We just need to have a plan for them once they're free. Something we can do to make sure they get the help they need," Magnus said reasonably. "Taking them from a roughly structured place to this insanity won't be good for their constitution."

Alec considered the situation they were in now. They'd left their parents and couldn't return home, because their parents were working for Valentine. They were now rooming with a warlock. A man was tracking them down rather viciously. And, apparently, Magnus had heard some gossip about Valentine's new movements. He was very quickly taking over the shadowhunter world, calling back his old Circle members, and gathering his enemies up.

"Jace and Clary would have a mental breakdown if you brought them back to this," he said unhelpfully. "But that doesn't mean we're going to leave them there. We'll just have to take them someplace out of the way for a while."

"You mean like here?" Magnus said cynically.

"Well…this is out of the way," Alec said sheepishly.

Isabelle stared at Magnus, her lips pursed. When she spoke, she was surprisingly soft. "Listen, I know you're having second thoughts, but I'm not kidding when I say that I'll cut off all your hair in the middle of the night and tattoo your head if you don't help us."

"Isabelle Lightwood, you angel," he replied with a sickly sweet smile. "I didn't say I wasn't going to help, though God knows why I agree to these things. I'm just saying that I want to make sure that you know the score. You're dealing with people who are potentially dangerous."

"But you said you'd help," Alec pressed, never blinking his eyes.

"Yes, I did, and I will. Just know these things." Magnus began to flip through the other pictures in the book, clearly admiring the work. "I wonder about these children."

"What about them?" Isabelle asked.

"What will happen to them?" He paused and considered the picture of Chloe. "I think a powerful necromancer could serve us well when it comes to fighting Valentine. Demons are treated the same as the dead by necromancers. She could give Valentine and his sword a run for his money."

"We'll get to them when we break them out," Isabelle said speculatively. "So, how so do we find them?"

"I'm going to trace the ring Jace left behind," Magnus mused, still flipping through the book. "It should take us to the Edison Group, and once we're there we can develop a plan to break them out. We do have to be careful, though. That boy with the blond hair is still trying to follow us I think."

"Wonder who sent him?" Isabelle said sarcastically.

"Give you three guesses," Magnus returned.

"I'm gonna go with Valentine."

Magnus laughed, studying the drawing of Derek. "Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Would you look at this boy? He's certainly something."

"Magnus!" Alec yelped, flushing.

"Oh, Alec. He's not like you, calm down." Magnus passed the book around and Isabelle again gave Derek an approving glance.

"Can we start tomorrow?" Isabelle asked, looking up from the picture. "Can you track the ring tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll need that much time. I've been putting up extra displacement wards around this house. To keep Valentine away. He couldn't see this place if he stood a foot away from the door step." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I just need to relax. Just a little."

Alec gave Magnus a warm, sympathetic look. "It's okay. Starting now would be pointless. I just don't want to leave Jace and Clary with those people-"

A terrified scream tore through Alec's last word. He jumped up, slicing the air with a blade in his belt. Isabelle had launched herself out of her seat and was already moving toward the sound with her whip out. The scream echoed down the hall again, and Isabelle and Alec took off. Magnus, who hung back, was muttering as quickly as he could, charms of protection.

"What's happening?" Alec demanded.

"It's Max!" Isabelle cried. "Max! Max, it's going to be okay." She rushed up the stairs and threw open the door to his room.

Max was sitting in his bed, blankets wrapped around him, frantically screaming. His eyes were wide and terrified and he was pointing at the window across from him. When he saw Isabelle, he dove out of the bed, scrambled to her, and jumped into her arm. Isabelle crushed him against her and he pressed his face into her neck.

"Max," Alec said soothingly. "Max, what's wrong?"

Max was shaking terribly. He pulled his face out of Isabelle's neck and sniffled. "I-I was in a cage, in a laboratory, and I saw C-Clary pressed against the wall across from me." He wiped his eyes, and they were wide with fear. "And-and, I saw Jace, and he was on a table, and there was doctor there with white hair and black eyes, and, and he was stabbing Jace with a needle!" Max grabbed Isabelle by her shirt front. "So I started screaming, and then I woke up, and when I looked up, there was someone staring at me through the window."

"What?" Isabelle gasped, lashing the whip across the room. Alec had the blade at the ready again. "You saw someone at the window?"

Max nodded. "He had blond hair, and he was really pale, and he had dark, dark eyes. He was staring at me and grinning. He looked crazy."

Slowly, Alec crossed to the window and looked out it. There was no one there, but as he examined the window closer he saw faint mark on the glass, as if someone had breathed on it. "Someone was here."

"I'm going to tell Magnus," Isabelle said at once. She hefted Max up higher on her hips and turned to the door. "They're not in here, though, so Magnus's spell must be working."

"Go," Alec said. "I'll check around."

When Isabelle got down the stairs, Magnus was in a flurry of motion. He was murmuring frantically under his breath and when he saw Isabelle, he blinked slowly. "Someone tried to get past the wards I put up," he said blankly.

"Max saw them; it was the blond guy again." Isabelle was petting Max's hair encouragingly. "Do you think he saw anything?"

"No, he couldn't have, but he just happened to be by here. He wasn't aware there was a house here, but he was still standing there." Magnus sighed heavily. "Like I said, we're safe here."

"Do you hear that, Max?" Isabelle asked softly. "We're safe here. No one can get to you."

Max emerged from Isabelle's shoulder. "Can we bring Jace and Clary here?"

"We're going to," Isabelle said firmly. "We can all stay here together until everything gets better."

Max shivered, but he looked past Isabelle's shoulder and saw the art book. He snaked around in Isabelle's arms until she dropped him, and then dashed to the book. He held it up and flipped through the pages until he found the one of Jace. His face crumpled and he sobbed softly at the memory of his nightmare. Why wasn't Jace with them? No one was better than Jace. No one was faster than Jace. No one was smarter than Jace. It just didn't make sense for Max, who had grown up with the protective figure always over his shoulder. He passed his hand over Jace's picture.

_This isn't over, _he thought. _We're almost there, just hold on. _

* * *

><p>"Jace," Clary whispered from her place on the couch. "Jace, Davidoff is looking at you."<p>

Jace stirred slightly from his position on the couch; he'd been lying behind Clary, one arm tossed carelessly around her waist, the other behind his head. He lifted his eyebrows curiously. "Can you blame him?"

Clary fought a small smile. "I don't like the way he's watching you. He looks like he's getting ready to attack."

Jace twisted around to see Davidoff, who was standing in the doorway. When their eyes met, Jace offered a ridiculously upbeat smile, and waved vaguely. Davidoff's lips curved up into a smile and the gestured Jace over. Clary swallowed and her hands constricted on Jace's shirt. Jace frowned but didn't move.

"Jace," Clary murmured. "Jace, don't go."

"Don't have a choice," he answered, and carefully unwound his arms. Clary tried to cling on to the shirt, but he pinched her hands off. "I'll be fine. Go find Chloe and stay with her and Derek."

"But-"

"Please," Jace said, suddenly desperate. He couldn't bare the idea of Clary alone and scared, and it showed through his eyes. Clary bit her lip and nodded.

"Okay, but please, just be careful."

"I'm always careful," he smirked, and then slunk over to Davidoff.

"You do look comfortable, Jace. I trust you're enjoying the new settings?" He glanced over to Clary, who was slinking out of the room and back to the nursery. "I'd like it if you could join me for a little while."

"Join you where?" Jace asked, as Davidoff turned for the nursery, placing an arm on Jace's shoulders.

"I'd like to take you on a tour of facility," he said reasonably, and then looked up pleasantly.

Jace followed his line of sight into the nursery. He couldn't see Clary or Chloe, so they had probably hidden away in the pillow fort. He did see Simon and Derek standing awkwardly by the exit door. They were rocking back and forth on their heels, looking anywhere but at Davidoff.

"You and Simon and Derek would probably love to get a better idea of this place," Davidoff guessed with the dark look in his eyes.

"Where are the girls?" Jace asked once he was standing by Derek. "Where did you put them?"

"I haven't done a thing to the girls," Davidoff said, nonplussed. "For all I know, they're hiding in that stupid fort you made. This is for your three. I _want _you to see the Edison Group compound."

"You just want us to see how trapped we are," Derek growled. "How very nice of you."

Davidoff's smile twisted very terribly. "I do love how you understand these things. And I'm not inviting you," he said when Simon glanced to the fort. "I'm telling you to come with me, and if you don't want to go, I'll take the girls today and you tomorrow."

Jace snarled viciously, enough so that Derek gave him a sideways look. "Don't touch any of them," Derek said firmly. "We'll come with you."

"Please, try to keep yourself under control for a little while," Davidoff tossed to Jace, who was still growling. "It will go badly if I have to drug you around these people."

Jace licked his lips and forced himself to remember that Clary was safe and tucked away in the nursery. "I'll do my best."

"I expect that."


	5. 101

101

"That's a lot of grey," Simon said in an undertone as they passed down the halls of the Edison Group. And it was a lot of grey. The walls were grey. The floor tiling was grey. The light even gave off a faint grey glow.

"We like to keep things simple here. The scientists like to focus on their work, not their surroundings." Davidoff was leading them through halls and halls of nothingness.

"Worst thing that ever happened," Derek muttered, and Jace and Simon sniggered.

The Edison Group compound was just a maze of halls with closed door. There was faint buzz of synthetic air, and the telltale sound of a cart being wheeled about. It had no stairs and no unlighted corridors, but it gave the impression that it just went on and on. That you could wander for ten years and still not escape the confines. Jace felt that he was just walking in circles, and none of his steps were getting him closer to Clary.

"Here's where I'd like to draw your attention," Davidoff huffed, showing them a set of double doors. Above the doors was the number 101 in thick black lettering. All three boys looked up and frowned. "This is room 101, and it's the very heart of the Edison Group."

"And what's in room 101?" Derek asked tensely.

"I'll show you, I'll show you," laughed Davidoff. "But before we enter, I just want you all to know that we expect you to behave your age."

"We will," Simon said with an eye roll.

"Good boys," Davidoff chirped, and then drew a card out of his pocket. He ran the card over a scanner beside the door and there was a decisive click. All three boys drew back a step, like they expected a mad scientist to run out and drag them in. "Come in, children."

Davidoff led the boys into room 101, and they very suddenly wished they could go back. It was a laboratory. A huge laboratory. The floors and walls and fixtures were pristine white, and the smell of antiseptic permeated the air. In the center of the room, were two metal tables with thick leather straps. Against the right wall, they were shocked to see, was a row of large metal cages. And all around were doctors, dressed in white, holding medical tools, and scribbling quickly in their notes.

"What do you think?" Davidoff asked with a smirk.

"I think this was a pleasant trip," began Jace, itching for a weapon. "And that I'd like to go back to the nursery if I could."

"Oh no, Jace," Davidoff trilled, walking farther into the room and gesturing them in. "I insist you take a look around. And, since you're here, why not make life a little easier?"

"Easier how?" Derek asked, going first into the room.

"The doctors would like to perform a physical exam for each of you. Since you're here, we might as well get that out of the way." Davidoff waved a man over. "Why don't you three follow this nice man over there?" He was looking at the cages, and Jace was reminded forcefully of the attic in Lyle House.

"What's he going to do with us over there?" Jace asked, nodding to the cages.

"We need to fill out some official paperwork about you," Davidoff said affably. "We need to have updated records."

"I don't know if I'll like that," Jace hedged.

"I'm sorry, but it's not an option," Davidoff replied sternly. "You need to follow this doctor over there and take your shirt off. It shouldn't take long."

"And if we refuse?" asked Derek, eyeing the doctor with a sideways look.

"Like I said, the girls are probably more willing to do this," Davidoff saw Jace's face and continued, "but if you offered to go first, we'd happily accept you."

"We'll go," Jace said at once. He knew he was setting up a future for himself. These doctors would always know that all they had to do was threaten Clary and he would fall in line. He was a little bitter about it, but he knew he would never leave her unprotected. "I'll go, at least," he added, glancing at Derek and Simon.

"Always a good sport," Davidoff said, and then he wrapped an arm around Jace's shoulders, and pushed him toward the doctor. "This is Dr. Madden, and he'll be conducting your physical. Please answer all his questions truthfully."

"Questions?" Jace asked, and then Dr. Madden took Jace by his elbow and tugged him over to a small station near the cages.

Dr. Madden, Jace noticed, was tall and slim, but his arms, when he rolled up his sleeves to pull on gloves, were well muscled and firm. On the table was a three ring binder with JACE written in large letters on it. Dr. Madden flipped it open to the first page and scribbled on the blank page. He then removed a camera from the drawer and turned to Jace with it.

"Look at me," he ordered gruffly. When Jace glanced his way, there was a click and the bright flash of a camera. As the spots faded in Jace's eyes he saw Derek settling into a chair across from another doctor. He didn't seem to be pleased with the situation. He caught Jace looking at him and smiled wanly.

"Jace, you need to take your shirt off and stand up," Dr. Madden ordered.

"People always tell me that," he said with a crooked smile. "Why is that?"

Dr. Madden stared at him evenly for a minute and then reached into his pocket and Jace saw his fingers twitch. Almost at once he felt a sharp shock pass from his finger tips down to his toes. He gasped, stumbling back and latching onto the table behind him. Jace snatched a look at the doctor, who was now smirking.

"I'm your assigned doctor now, Jace. Any medical procedures, any medications, any therapy you need will go through me. You and I will need to develop a healthy patient-doctor relationship if you want to have a comfortable stay here." He watched a shiver shudder up Jace's spine. "Now, take your shirt off."

Jace glared and tore his shirt off; he stood, forcing himself to stop shaking, and focused on Dr. Madden. The doctor dug around and found his medical tools. He flipped to the next page of the binder and had Jace stand on a weight scale. After, he checked his body-mass index. He took a tape measure and flicked around his body measuring different parts of his body. Then, asked Jace a number of questions about his diet and the amount of exercise he got a day. Jace remained stiff and furious, but he answered the questions.

Jace noted that three of the pages in the binder were now full, but it looked like at least fifty were left to be filled. He scowled when the doctor measured his heart beat and frowned with what he heard. Then he had Jace sit down while he reviewed what medications Jace was currently receiving.

When Jace looked up again, he saw that Simon was letting his new doctor measure the width of his arm.

Simon wasn't sure he liked Dr. Tyler, who was his personal physician, and kept giving him sharp orders. Simon had tried to sound cheerful, but Dr. Tyler had growled at him from under his bushy eyebrows. He stood now and let the old man pinch him all over with a tape measure.

"Here, Simon," he said shortly, directing Simon to sit. "The nurses from Lyle House say you're currently taking a hormone repressor and a form of anti-hallucinogen. We're going to begin to wean you off both, but the anti-hallucinogen may have side effects that we'd like to avoid. If you begin seeing things, you're going to report them to me."

"Why would I see things?" Simon demanded suddenly.

"It's just an effect of coming off the medicine," Dr. Tyler answered.

"And what's with the hormone repressor?" snapped Simon, trying to peek at the notes in his book. "Why are you messing with my hormones?"

"It was necessary until we got you here," he said simply. "Your hormones were helping to dictate your uncontrollable emotions, and it was those that were driving your powers the wrong way."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "That's a load and you know it."

Dr. Tyler shrugged as if he could care less. "Either way, I'll be removing that from your diet. You may begin to experience sudden bouts of anger or depression. It's to be expected. Report any suicidal thoughts to me."

"Does this mean that I'm going to start being interested in girls, because I haven't had the sex talk yet."

"Did you see Jace over there a few minutes ago?" They both looked at Jace, who was staring off into space. "You still have a band on your arm that can very easily hurt you, just like Jace found out, and I don't want to have to rely on pain." He sighed. "But I will."

Simon blinked. "We _are_ good friends, aren't we? We understand each other so well."

"You understand that I expect respect, so yes, we do get along well." He scribbled something in his notes about medication, and then glanced up at Simon, who was glaring at him. "Wipe that look off your face, Simon, before I do it for you."

With effort, Simon forced his lips up. "You really do have a charming personality."

"I have a short temper, too," he said in return, and he placed a small remote controller on the table. "Do you want me to hurt you?"

A low growl from a few feet away made Simon turn about. Derek was sitting in a chair, holding the arms rests, digging his nails in. His eyes were on Dr. Tyler, who stared at him shrewdly. Seeing Tyler's eyes on him, he smiled and showed a mouth full of sharp, white teeth. They glittered like knives and Simon wanted to laugh.

"Keep your eyes over here, boy," ordered Dr. Burgedy, filling out a chart in Derek's binder. "Keep flashing your fangs and I'll have you removed to a private cell."

"Apologies," Derek answered shortly, but he tilted his head so he could hear what was being said to Simon.

"Now, how are you adjusting to your new living quarters?" Dr. Burgedy gave him a piercing look. "I need to know everything before I can begin to move you forward in your training and your adult life. Tell me everything."

Derek considered his new accommodations. The disconcerting nursery where they all had to sleep together under the eyes of stuffed animals. A movie room where they ate together. The big open space outdoors, caged in with walls. And the classroom where they had to sit and take lessons.

"It's very different from Lyle House."

"Different how?" murmured Dr. Burgedy.

"No one's trying to lie to me about how I'm going to be treated," he snapped back. "Here there are walls, and locked doors, and people watching, and cages. At Lyle House, the nurses tried to convince us that they weren't going to hurt us. Here, I know you'll hurt me." He paused, smirking. "I appreciate the effort."

The doctor scribbled. "Good, good, what else?"

"The nursery is weird, I don't think you should keep us in there."

"We have the nursery set up because very soon the drugs that have been keeping you in check will be removed from your diet. You may become rather unstable, and the nursery is a place you can go to calm yourself down. It's a safe room where we weren't ever intrude, so, if you have delusional thoughts, that's the best place for you."

"It's unnecessary. You make us feel embarrassed by keeping us locked in there. And all the plushies aren't helping the effect." Derek glanced at Jace. "I think Jace will have a mental breakdown and tear the heads off all those animals."

"If he does he'll be removed," the doctor replied.

"So that's how it stands?" Derek demanded. "If we overreact you're gonna "remove" us?"

"We have a solitary confinement area for your lot."

"Does solitary confinement include hurting us?" Derek returned.

"It could if force is necessary." Dr. Burgedy shot him a narrowed look. "And if you still refuse to cooperate, we may remove you completely."

Derek blinked and pressed his lips together. "You're willing to kill your precious creations?"

"Yes," he said simply. "Yes, we are. And it will be my happy pleasure to put the needle in your arm if that is the case. Bear that in mind. Now, tell me more."

"I don't think the lessons will be any use to us, to be honest. Our powers will continue to grow and no amount of lecturing is going to stop them." Derek smirked again, daring the doctor to disagree.

"Your lessons, once you get past the short book themes, will be more active. We'd like you to be as active as you can once the medication is removed." It was a diversion, but the truth was quite clear. Without the drugs they were uncontrollable.

"Another question, Dr. Burgedy," Derek said, lifting a finger.

"Yes?"

"Are you really planning on making us sleep with each other?" he was frank, but Derek always thought that frankness was the best way to get the truth.

To his credit, Dr. Burgedy didn't flinch away from the question. "We need to make sure it's possible for you to procreate, to make sure the genetic alterations still allow for you to reproduce. So, yes, you will be interacting on a different level with a chosen partner."

"And we'll be doing this soon?" Derek didn't know if he really wanted the answer, but he had spit out the question anyway.

"Yes."

"How can you condone this? You're a doctor! Don't you take the Hypocritical Oath, swearing to never do a patient harm?" Derek snarled, his eyes flickering dangerously between human and wolf.

"How have we harmed you?"

"Maybe not me, but what about the girls?" Derek's mind strayed to Chloe, her big round eyes and small pouting lips. She was too delicate a girl for this, too fragile to be used so cruelly. "You can't expect them to just go through with this."

"_That_ is not my problem," the doctor said with a wicked grin. "I'm concerned only for _your_ health. I have no loyalty to little girls too scared to face the carnal side of the human race."

"What if I refuse to go through with it?" Derek challenged.

"We have other ways of assuring that the girl is impregnated. Though," Dr. Burgedy chortled viciously, "I'm sure she will be more comfortable with you doing the deed than her doctor, no?"

"I'm thoroughly disgusted," Derek said with a frown.

"Oh, I'm sure you are, but that's not my concern. I'm not here to be your friend, Derek; I'm here to be a doctor and a scientist. You are my subject, not my pal, and you will be treated as such. You and all the other subjects from Appendix C are here to be fixed not babied, and we are going to fix you no matter what it takes." He slammed his pencil down as Derek protested. "You're a bunch of moronic children, you know that? This is not Lyle House where you're sent to your room, this is the Edison Group. If I find myself angry with you, I'll lock you in a cold, dark cell, and make you listen while I torture your brother and little girlfriend. Whatever I tell you to do, you'll do it. I will see you cured, or dead."

Derek felt his fingers curling up into fists as he tried to fight the urge to Change and attack the doctor. When he took a few deep breaths, his muscles relaxed, but it was hard with that smile on Dr. Burgedy's face. He focused on the idea of Chloe, who was waiting for him to come back, who needed his protection from these maniacs. It had a calming effect unlike any drug he'd been given.

"Get up, Derek, and go stand by the cages with the rest of the boys." He pointed to the other two boys who were standing together, looking forlorn and edgy.

Derek wandered over and settled between them, keeping his eyes on the doctors who were moving about like bees in a beehive. For a while he and Derek and Jace just stood there, wondering what was going to happen to them. From the crowd came Dr. Davidoff with a sinister smile that he was trying to hide. He stopped before them and looked them each in the eye.

"So you've all behaved yourselves, yes?" he asked in a paternal way. "I didn't hear anything horrible from the doctors, so I can guess I can take you back to the nursery." He herded them away from the cages and through the press of doctors. Jace's neck tingled as he passed them. He knew what they were thinking about him. In the hall, Davidoff smirked at them. "I'm so glad you've chosen to act your age; it will make it so much easier to bring the girls here. I want you three to explain the procedure to the girls and how simple it was. We all know how girls can be."

Jace felt a shaking in his body as Davidoff spoke of Clary. He didn't want that man even thinking about her, and the idea that those doctors were going to be near her made him sick. They'd made him take off his clothes to give him a physical exam and had been somewhat invasive. He didn't want Clary having to go through that.

"I don't think the girls need to go through that," Jace said stiffly. He was trying to calm himself.

"Oh, Jace, we need to keep up to date files. Plus, there are _things_ we need to know about the girls."

"Things?" Derek cut in, scowling. "Things about their reproductive abilities?"

"Perhaps," Davidoff said lightly. They had arrived at the door to the nursery. "Go in there and tell the girls it was a simple physical, nothing horrible. We'll know if you don't, and if you don't, I'll personally make sure their procedure _is _horrible." He ran his hand over the door, and it opened automatically. "Get in there."


	6. Grounded

Grounded

Jonathan watched the steam rise out of the gutter in disgust. The Mundane world really was absolutely vile. The humans didn't even know how to care for their cities, let alone their lives. It would be so much better once Valentine took control of the Clave and revealed the existence of shadowhunters to the humans. It would be so much easier to subjugate them then.

"Open the door, Bane!" Jonathan snarled at the voice box on the door. He waited a few moments, breathing lightly, listening, before he pounded his fist on the building wall. "You coward!"

This wasn't possible. He's cornered that filthy fey creature and managed to get an address out of him. But that had been out in the country, and there was nothing there but empty hills and grassy fields. Once he'd gotten back to the city, he'd looked up Bane, and found this apartment. But, apparently, Bane was in hiding.

"When I find that fairy, the first thing I'm going to do is rip his ears off," growled Jonathan.

Quickly, he glanced down both sides of the street, and then flicked out his stele. With swift, unseen movements, he opened the door to the apartment and stepped in. Inside, he found a few other doors to other people's lives, but was more interested in the stairs that took him to the flat.

It wasn't long before Jonathan had his stele out again, and was cutting the door to Magnus's flat open. When the lock clicked, and the door swung to, he was given a perfect view of the warlocks abandoned home. The furniture was unlined and smooth, like no one had been there in at least a week. There was a fine layer of dust on all things, and the smell of trapped air. As Jonathan crossed the room, he found more signs of disuse. The way the pictures were hung crookedly, the rotting food in the fridge, the unplugged television. The warlock hadn't been here in a while.

Jonathan flung himself down on the couch and sighed. This was becoming impossible. The Lightwood brats had found themselves a very useful friend, and he was keeping himself scarce. It didn't help that this particular friend was a warlock who was able to cast spells to keep them hidden. How was he supposed to be expected to find three children who were hiding in a veil of magic?

Carefully, Jonathan pulled out a mirror and breathed on it. He muttered a few words, and the image of a room appeared. He waited patiently, as he had been taught to, and then his father's face appeared and he smiled.

"Jonathan," Valentine said casually. "How is your search going?"

"Miserable, actually," Jonathan said swiftly. "I got a tip that Magnus left town for one of his country houses. I found the city one was supposed to be located in, but the house wasn't there. Nothing was there. I'm in his city apartment now, and it hasn't been lived in in weeks. I don't know where to turn to now."

Valentine didn't seem mad, just indifferent. "I expect better than this. I need those three children, Jonathan. They know where Jace and Clarissa are."

Hearing his name, Jonathan's lip curled. "Why do you need Clarissa and _Jace_ so badly? It's not like they're going to help us in our fight."

"Yes they will," Valentine said thoughtfully. "They might not willingly participate, but it will help to deteriorate the Clave when they see what Clarissa is capable of. As for Jace, he is just a means to end. Clarissa will do whatever I say as long as I have Jace's life to barter with."

Again, Jonathan was overcome with hatred for his stepbrother. He couldn't understand how his father could want that weak, useless… "Jace won't submit, Father. He'll fight you every step of the way."

"Then I'll hurt him," answered Valentine curtly. "I can afford to hurt Jace, and he knows what I'm capable of. Clarissa will panic when she's sees Jace hurt and run to his aid. I won't have a wayward child," Valentine added as an afterthought.

"I still don't think it's necessary to keep Jace," growled Jonathan.

"No, you just don't like him," Valentine said blankly. "Sadly, I do see that he has his uses and I want him around. I even _like_ the boy a little. So when they are located, you're not to hurt Jace. I want him alive and unharmed."

Jonathan bristled at the idea that his own father liked some random boy more than him. What was so good about Jace? What did the little angel boy do that made him so important? "Why do we need the Lightwoods then? Can't we find Clary and Jace without them?"

"No," Valentine said brusquely. "I don't have a clue where they've gone to. I need you out there finding them, not in here, whining at me."

"I'm not whining-"

"Yes, you are, and I don't like it." Valentine sighed and rubbed his hands together. "Go find an old friend of mine. Luke Greymark. He might know where your sister's run off to."

"The werewolf?" Jonathan asked dryly.

"The very same," said Valentine.

* * *

><p>The tension had been building since the children had been taken off their medication. It had only been three days, but it was wearing them to the edge. There were long silences during the day that no one was able to breach, and at night, many of the children were possessed of horrible nightmares. When tempers broke, they broke bad. Fights between the three boys were vicious and pointless. And the girls were almost hissing at each other. It wasn't helping that once a day, Dr. Davidoff would come in and poke around, taking notes on each other them.<p>

They had more visits to each of their doctors, who performed physicals and recorded their notes. They all seemed immensely pleased that the children were coming off their medication, and hadn't fought physically with one and other, and didn't care that the children complained about nightmares.

As Chloe's doctor, Dr. Mika wrote something about Chloe's blood pressure, she cleared her throat and asked tentatively, "Why am I having problems controlling my powers?"

Dr. Mika glanced at her and frowned. "You're hormones are getting the better of you, calm down."

"It's not my hormones!" Chloe snarled, then gasped at her sudden anger.

"See, it's happening right now." Dr. Mika smirked at Chloe. "Any other unexpected problems?"

"Yeah, the part where you make me get pregnant," she shot back with a scowl.

Dr. Mika lost any pretext of kindness and flipped a few pages about in her binder. Chloe noticed she was under a tab labeled Behavior, and she began to scribble furiously. As she wrote, she said, "That attitude is unacceptable, Chloe. One more outburst like that and I'll see you grounded. Is that what you want? To be locked up all by yourself?"

"No," Chloe grumbled.

"I didn't think so," Dr. Mika snapped. "Now, as for your fertility testing, we're going to perform a few hormones tests first, and then, by next week, start you and your selected partner on a schedule."

"My partner?" Chloe asked, though she knew who.

"Derek," she said simply. Chloe blushed faintly, but she'd known who she was going to be with. "His doctor is going to be speaking with him about it soon, so there will be no awkwardness, if that's what you were worried about."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "How long will this go on before you stop it?"

"We need to know that your pregnancy can at least go one to two terms," the doctor said as though she were discussing the weather.

"No!" Chloe burst out. "It's one thing to get pregnant, but to walk around with a fat stomach-"

"What did I just say about your outburst?"

"I don't give a damn!" Chloe was beyond comfort now. She vaguely realized that with the drugs she'd been receiving, her control over her emotions was better, but she was too busy simmering in anger to care.

Chloe jumped to her feet, and at once, the lights about them began to flicker. In her fury, and unchecked power, Chloe had called upon the demons that resided in the compound to come to her aid. The temperature about them dropped drastically till everyone's breath came in little puffs. It darkened significantly, until the faint lights from the medical equipment were burning like an open flame. A faint breeze drifted through the room, carrying the faintest sounds of crying voices.

Suddenly, the eerie silence was broken by Clary's cry. "Chloe, stop! Please, make it _stop_!" Clary had doubled up at her table, and was holding her sides like she was in pain. A cold sweat was dribbling down her back as something chilly ran a finger up her spine. "STOP!"

"Chloe!" snarled her doctor, but Chloe was beyond stopping. She had crumpled to the ground in her anger and pain, and all around her, voices were screaming in a tumultuous pitch. She saw things, shadows moving about her, reaching for her. "You stop right now, girl!"

"It hurts," Chloe moaned miserably. "Stop hurting me!"

The things closed in one her, making an impenetrable wall of darkness. Chloe saw horrible shapes all around her, and one stretched out a hand-like thing and snatched her chin, lifting her face up, forcing her to look at it. Chloe was convulsing as it touched her, and she felt all the blood drain out of her body.

"Make them go away!" Clary cried. Clary saw the things as simple black shapes, and she lost it. She was screaming, screaming so loudly her throat stung. All she wanted was them to go, and she couldn't make them, and no one could, no one but… "Jace! JaceJaceJace! JACE!"

Clary started to crawl along the floor, searching desperately for the door, for a way to Jace. He could fight the demons, he could make them stop. But someone's hands shot out and grabbed a hank of her hair, dragging her backward.

"Shut up, girl, shut up!" It was one of the doctors, shaking her furiously.

"Make them stop," Clary begged. Her eyes darted around and landed on Chloe, who was seizing on the ground, her eyes rolling up into her head. "Chloe!" she gasped.

After the thing had forced Chloe to look up into its face, everything had gone black, and she felt pain all over her body, but a strange kind of pain, like pressure. It felt as if something had slipped inside her and then had tried to push out of her. Chloe had thought her body was going to explode as the pressure built under her skin, on her finger tips, behind her eyes. She couldn't breathe from the weight pushing down on her lungs, she couldn't think from the terrible pounding in her head.

As Chloe convulsed and Clary panicked, Tori was cowering under a metal table, watching the scene unfold. She knew that Chloe was the key to making it stop, so she took a deep, steadying breath, and began to clamber toward Chloe. It was hard going, because it felt as though the air had been replaced by water, and she had to tread through it, but she pushed on.

When Tori finally reached Chloe, she was to the end of her nerves. She was shaking and tried, and felt that all around her people were whispering horrible things about her. But Chloe was worse. She was pale, gasping for breath, covered in cold sweat, and, from the look of her loose pants, had wet herself. Tori took Chloe's hand and forced herself to focus on the problem at hand. She closed her eyes and began to murmur a string of words, things that were calming and thoughtful, words to bring warmth and peace to a person.

Chloe was still shaking, but all around, light was beginning to grow. Suddenly, the doors to the laboratory were thrown open and three people ran in, Dr. Davidoff in the lead. He glanced around, felt the things in the room, and ran for Chloe. He shoved Tori so hard that she rolled over, and her fell upon Chloe, whispering a string of furious words. Gradually, the lights came back up and the cold left the room.

Chloe was unconsciousness, Tori was shuddering, and Clary was crying, still begging that Jace might come. Dr. Davidoff stood slowly and looked around the room.

"What happened?" he asked slowly, containing his anger poorly.

"Chloe," said one of the doctors accusingly. "She got mad and just lost it. Then Tori and Clary panicked and started screaming. They're insane. All of them." A round of agreement came from the doctors and Davidoff frowned around the room.

"I should have known this would happen." He sighed. "They're all grounded." He turned briskly to one of the people behind him. "Not just the girls, all of them. Take the boys, too."

Davidoff wandered back into the laboratory, looking at the destruction caused by a little girl. It was scary, but revolutionary, a new horizon was suddenly growing before him. He paused at one of the tables where Clary was crouched, shaking her head in shock. He stared at her emotionlessly. It wasn't that he didn't care about her, but her skills were almost useless.

Useless, he noted, was almost synonymous for incurable.

Jace and Derek were playing a video game in the recreation room when three Edison workers burst in, snarling orders and waving electrified batons. Derek rolled off the couch and snarled, trying to push Jace behind him. But Jace was already up, preparing to leap into furious action.

"What the _hell _is going on here?" Simon demanded, coming in the from the school room. He saw Jace and Derek standing tense and waiting, like two very cornered wolves. Derek especially seemed like a cornered wolf with his strange eyes and mane of hair. Then he saw the men in the uniforms. "Ah, you could have just knocked."

"Be quiet, warlock," said one of the men sharply.

Simon raised his eyebrows but edged around the room to his brother and Jace. "What did we do this time?" he asked Jace in an undertone.

Jace shrugged, but his eyes never left the men facing them. He noticed that they were carrying plastic restraints and he thought of Clary at once. Was Clary okay? Did she need his help? Jace regretted at once that he had let Clary just walk out of the nursery that day without a thought. He should have kept her, should have made her stay with him.

"Alright, boys, you need to come with us," said one man, brandishing the restrains. "There's been a complication and you're all being removed."

"A complication?" Derek growled, his thoughts going to Chloe. "What kind of complication?"

"A bad one," said another man. He scowled at Derek and waved the baton he had. "Now get over here, we have to go."

"Where are you taking us?" Jace demanded.

"Solitary confinement," said the last man, and he swung his baton menacingly. "Now, _move_!"

Jace was panicking now, aching to have Clary back in his arms. He knew he should never let her leave his sight. The moment he found her he was going to pull her into his arms and keep her there. It seemed like every time they separated, Clary ended up in horrible danger.

"I want to see Clary," Jace said simply. "I won't go anywhere till I see Clary."

"Boy, you will go where I tell you to go," the man answered.

"Not until I see Clary!"

The men seemed to consider this the breaking point. All three of them lunged forward at the boys, who scattered, searching desperately for weapons. It was a futile attempt, and only succeeded in separating them and making them easier targets.

Simon threw up his hands in defense, trying to make a spell, but he felt a baton crash down on his wrist, snapping the bones effectively and leaving him defenseless. He glared up at the man who had broken his wrist, and saw that he was smiling. Simon, determined to go down with the last word, smiled sickly and presented his other wrist to the man.

"Put me in shackles?"

"I'll do you better," was all the man said before slipped restraints around Simon's wrists and tightening them until Simon gasped from the pain in his broken hand.

By the pool table, Derek was grappling with the other man. He snarled, flashing a mouth of very sharp fangs, and swung his fist around for a hit. The man dodged it seamlessly, and shouldered Derek. Derek fell over backward onto the table, hand reaching out for a pool stick. He managed to grab the cue ball, hoping to use it like a rock, but the man _had_ found the pool stick and brought it down with punishing force on Derek's chest. Derek gasped, dropping the cue ball, and fell to the floor. He went to grab the man's leg, but the man brought the stick down on his back so hard Derek couldn't breathe.

"You lot are the worst. I can't wait till they just kill you!" the man spat, hitting Derek again. "And that freaking necromancer, she's the worst. Ruined the laboratory."

Derek stopped struggling to listen to the man. So Chloe had lost it; not unexpected given the situation. But still…was Chloe going to be hurt because of it? Just the idea that Chloe might be hurt because of something she couldn't control scared him. How could he protect Chloe from something no one had control of?

Unlike the other two boys, Jace had fled the room. He figured there was no point in fighting when he wasn't defending Clary. Jace had rushed into the nursery, hoping that the idiots had left the door unlocked, but he was disappointed. For a minute, Jace frantically felt along the wall, searching hopelessly for the door he knew was locked. But already, the man with the restraints was in the room, furious to have been outwitted by the seventeen year old boy.

Jace spun about, spotting the man charging toward him, and he dashed back into the nursery. He had to get out of sight, just a moment of peace, so he could decide what to do. He could already feel his pulse quickening; hear the pounding in his ears. He remembered the fight he'd had at Lyle House…how he's been more animal than person…how dangerous. If that happened now they might kill him. He might never see Clary again.

Jace crouched down and tried to get to their pillow fort, just a moment in the dark warmth might be enough. He was almost to the entrance when a baton swung out and caught him in the ribs. Jace rolled to the side, crashing into a pile of stuffed animals and toppling a basket of blankets on his head. Jace fought with them, but it was too late.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" asked the man as he hit Jace again.

Jace finally managed to dislodge the basket, but the man grabbed both his arms and jerked them behind him. Jace grunted and bared his teeth in a snarl. "That's unnecessary," he said.

"Like hell it is," the man said. "You kids are little monsters, I don't care what Davidoff says. You should be locked up in chains, not running around playing games." The man jerked Jace to his feet and dragged him toward the wall. A minute later they were joined by Derek and Simon and their handlers, who were grimacing from the fight.

They left the nursery and were rushed down hall after hall, under flickering pale lights, past door after door, and down two darkened stairwells. It felt like they were never going to stop, like it was the job of the three men to confuse them. Jace was frantic about Clary now, wondering if she had been put through the same as him. He could feel himself start to shake in the man's hand. Derek was having a hard time controlling his shifting, and Simon was wiggling about madly.

"Stop it," growled the man holding Simon. "We're there."

All three boys looked up and saw a single hall with a line of doors on either side. And there, slumped on the floor in a drugged haze, were the girls. They were looking about them, confused, and when the boys saw them, they smiled slowly.

"Clary," Jace murmured, and his shaking increased terribly. "Clary!"

Clary managed to focus her gaze on Jace, and he saw that her pupils were large and very dark. She smiled brightly at Jace and reached out for him with her hands that were tied together.

"Jace," she whispered.

Jace managed to wriggle free of his captor just as Derek cried Chloe's name. The two boys dashed across the hall, Jace with some difficulty due to his hands being bound behind him, and dropped beside the girls.

Clary reached out her hand and delicately stroked Jace's cheek. "Jace, why didn't you come when I called?" she asked, adorably confused. "I called for you, I did. Where were you?"

Jace was trying to calm down, but the idea of Clary calling for him made his heart beat unevenly. "I-I tried, Clary. But they wouldn't let me."

Clary blinked slowly. "I was scared."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, and he saw people approaching quickly.

Clary merely nodded her head. "Don't be. I understand…but you're here now. You'll stay with me?"

"I don't know if I can," Jace said quickly, as the figures drew level with him. "Whatever happens, Clary, I'll find you. I swear it, I'll find you."

"Jace…" Clary moaned, but the people descended on them and dragged the children apart.

The door to each room was thrown open and they all saw the same thing: a simple room. There was bed made up with a few blankets, a desk with a lamp, a closet with clothes in it, and an attached bathroom. There were no windows.

The children were pushed in roughly, and told they would remain here until their doctors could decide what to do with them, and that could take some time. All of the children turned scanned the room, turned about to complain to their captors, but they were left facing a closed, locked door. Trapped alone for a seemingly endless time.


	7. Solitary Confinement

Solitary Confinement

There were times in life when it seems like you are caught in a hole, trapped and trying desperately to claw your way out. Because you have to get out, because every moment in the hole is miserable. You feel lost and forgotten; like no one cares that you're trapped. And you feel the misery as a physical thing, holding you down even more. Every time you try to move, it pushes you down, every time you try to think reasonably, it clouds your mind. It's all you can do to lie down, and close your eyes, blinding yourself to the hopelessness around you.

That's how every day in solitary confinement felt to the children.

It didn't take long to explore the room they were given. The floor had thick carpet that itched their feet. The beds creaked and groaned in the night when they moved. The desk had paper and pencils on it where the children were expected to sit and waste the day away. The bathroom was small and tiled, with a built in tub that spit water out occasionally.

It was a miserable little cell disguised as a room. That's what Derek thought anyway. He thought the first night was going to be the worst, just getting used to the idea of being alone. He didn't sleep that night. He paced the room, every time he reached the spot where the door was, banging on it, and then paced back to his bed. He felt almost positive that once his time in his cell was over, there would be a permanent rut in the floor where he walked.

When the night was over, at least when he judged night to be over, he flopped down on the bed and mussed the sheets. All night he'd been thinking about how to get out of the cell, but he knew he was only doing that so he could forget about Chloe. But the memories of her were slowly swimming up, and he couldn't press them down.

The last time he's seen her, she had been as full of drugs as the doctors could get her. Chloe had seen him, recognized him, and then completely broken down. She'd started sobbing, begging Derek to forgive her for doing what she did. What she did, she didn't say, but she kept asking him to forgive her. Derek had pressed her against him and promised he didn't care. That he loved her. That she couldn't be forgiven because she could never do anything to make him mad. Chloe sobbed on his shoulder and told him she was scared to go, scared to be killed. He promised they wouldn't kill her.

But what did he know?

Whatever Chloe had done had put the Edison Group on high-alert. It had to have been bad, or else they wouldn't have taken all the children away. And it worried him that Chloe had done anything so huge. Dr. Davidoff had warned them that they had to be shown to be making progress, or else they may be killed. Whatever Chloe had done was not progressive. It was the opposite. Could it have been so bad they were going to kill her?

Just the idea that Chloe might be killed sent wave upon wave of terror and anger washing over him. Derek felt his whole body shake as the intense emotions began to force the change on him. He rolled onto the bed, twisting and screaming into the pillow, fighting with all his might.

His hands started to elongate, the fingernails becoming shaper and thicker until they became vicious claws. He felt bone crushing pain in his back and legs as the bones there began to reshape, and it felt like his teeth were being pulled out of his mouth. Then the waves of nausea coursed through him, and Derek struggled out of the blankets to the bathroom.

He spent over an hour, gagging and vomiting and banging his fists on the floor. When it was over, every muscle in Derek's body was strained and convulsing, and he was reduced to twitching on the floor. The sweat steamed off his body as the fever raged though him. Derek managed to drag himself onto his hands and knees and he crawled on all fours to the tub where he turned the shower on. Derek clambered awkwardly into the bathtub and let the cold water run over him, passing out in moments.

When Derek came to, he was still under the cold shower, but the tremors had stopped. He reached out a wet hand and turned the water off. For a moment, he lay there, taking deep breaths and focusing on a single point. In those few moments, he managed to organize his thoughts enough to sit up.

He knew he couldn't change like that on a whim, and he also knew it was now more likely to happen since he'd been taken off his drug regimen. Losing control wasn't going to get him out of his cell any sooner; it would just trap him longer. And if he was in his cell, he couldn't be with Chloe who needed him desperately.

Again, though, he thought of Chloe, who might even now me dead.

_No!_ Derek thought forcefully. _She's not dead. They wouldn't kill Chloe, not yet…they need her for their sick experiments._

It certainly wasn't a happy thought, but it was a calming one. He knew the doctors wanted to make sure that all the children could reproduce properly. They wouldn't destroy Chloe until after that part. She had to be alive still, trapped just like he was.

Carefully, Derek struggled over the rim of the tub and flopped loudly onto the floor. He noticed then that he was hungry, starving really, and he was too weak to move much. It took some time but Derek managed to maneuver himself back to the bedroom where he crawled onto the bed and wrapped himself in the covers to recover.

Sometime later, it might have been minutes, it might have been hours, a door was opened and a person came in. Derek at once recognized the scent.

"Davidoff," he croaked.

"Yes, Derek, it's me. I've come to check on you and see if you're doing alright." He paused, saw the wet hand prints leading from the bathroom and frowned. "You were having problems last night?"

Derek didn't bother to lie. "I almost changed."

"Derek, we spoke about this, and you're not supposed to do that. Control is key-"

"Control can go to hell!" Derek snarled. "Either you tell me if Chloe's alive, or I'll change here and tear your throat out."

Davidoff doubted very much that Derek was going to tear his throat out, but he shrugged and took a seat at the desk. "Chloe is alive, of course. She's had a minor setback, but nothing horrible. She's recovering from her minor attack in her room."

Derek's only answer was to snort.

"Now, I want you to know that we've put you here for your own good. We thought you and rest of the children would be thoroughly over excited by the events around you. You'll have some time to recover in here, and then you can all be put together again." Davidoff laughed. "We're not going to kill anyone."

"Good, then get out," Derek replied sharply.

"Derek, that's rude, but I'll let this slip because you're not in the right state of mind." Davidoff rose and crossed to the door. "Oh, and we'll be feeding you three meals day. We expect you to eat all of them."

Derek longed to ask how long they were going to be stuck here, but his pride held his tongue, and he just grunted again. Davidoff left with a very pronounced sigh.

Across the hall, Chloe was sitting on her bed, wrapped protectively in blankets and trying to force the nightmares out of her mind. All over she kept seeing the thing with its hand reaching out for her, trying to drag her into the darkness. Chloe could feel the cold as it raced up her spine, freezing her blood. Sometimes, it would become too real for Chloe to bear and she would bury herself in pillows and blankets and cry. And it was only her loud sobbing that silenced the dead wailing in her head.

The rest of time, Chloe felt sure she was about to be killed. She'd sit in silence, running over all the things she'd ever been told by Dr. Davidoff. Were they going to kill her? Surely, she had just shown she was not making improvement. And they had said that if she didn't, they might kill her.

As Chloe sat, though, stewing in her terror, she realized that her fear was only making her more of a wreck. She felt sick all the time and she had horrible nightmares. In her dreams, she tossed and turned and screamed, her horror materializing in her thoughts. Sometimes, she'd see her friends being experimented on, or she'd be locked in a cage, prodded by doctors, or, the worst, she'd be drowning in shadows.

Chloe knew the screaming wasn't doing wonders for her position, so she tried to find ways to relax. At first, she'd sit and write, but she never got past a page before her thoughts were consumed with the doctors waiting on the other side of the door. She tried to take boiling hot baths that would calm her before she slept, but it never worked.

At last Chloe found the best way to sleep through the night was to tire herself out before she went to sleep. Chloe would run small circles in her room, do jumping jacks, pushups, sit ups, and any other little things she could think of so that when she crawled into bed, she was too weak to dream.

This might have freed Chloe's mind during sleep, but her waking hours were troubled with thoughts of her friends.

Mostly, Chloe thought of Derek, who was sure to overreact when he found out what happened. She imagined he would become so mad with her that he might change completely and become wolf. She worried that he might be killed if he attacked an attendant, which was very possible, and she tried to picture her life without Derek.

Chloe knew very suddenly that she could not stand it if Derek were killed. The Edison Group was too much for her to bear alone, and she would surely die if she didn't have that one solid thing in her life.

Chloe decided that she would focus on the thought of Derek whenever her mind slipped back to demons. If she behaved well, if she did as they asked, they would let her see Derek again. That was all that mattered.

When Dr. Davidoff came to her room, he found her seated on her bed, drawing pictures of wolves. He smiled when he saw her and relaxed at once. "You're looking well, Chloe," he said with a smile.

Chloe looked up slowly with baited breath. Was he here to decide her fate? "I'm relaxed."

"Yes, yes," Dr. Davidoff said, glancing at her picture. "You're recovering nicely, Chloe. I'm very impressed, and very pleased. We were a little worried about how you might take your grounding, but you're doing very well. I shouldn't have worried." He sat down on the bed beside her. "Do you feel more in control of yourself?"

Chloe certainly wouldn't say controlled, but perhaps more focused. "I know what I want," she said calmly.

"Oh? And what is that?"

"I want to see my friends again. I don't want them to be hurt because of me." She looked squarely at Dr. Davidoff. "I'll behave if you let me see them."

This pleased Dr. Davidoff beyond measure. "I'm glad you've decided that, Chloe, and I know it's the truth. You'll be pleased to know that your friends are all safe and secure, no harm done. You'll all be reunited soon, I promise."

Chloe cast Davidoff a disinterested sidelong look. He saw it and stood stiffly. She obviously only cared about her friends, and that would have to be enough to keep her under control. He left quietly and locked the door. Only a few more days of this…

Though Chloe had managed to calm herself, a few of the children were still straining against their captors. Clary was in a constant state of panic that left her wandering through her room, throwing things around and pounding on the walls. She would scream for Dr. Davidoff and beg to see Jace. Her body was wracked with tremors and sickness, and would often leave her curled in a ball after vomiting.

Nothing seemed to be helping her to calm down. Clary tried to draw, tried to lose herself in the world of lines and color, but she couldn't. She'd start to draw someone, usually Jace, but the picture would just fade away. Literally. It seemed like without a sheer focus or calming presence she couldn't draw. It scared her horribly.

When she wasn't drawing, Clary would sit in her bed, thinking of Jace. She wanted him back so much. She felt like without him around, she was in danger of losing herself. Jace had been able to call her back to herself, steady her, protect her not just from the people around her, but from herself. Without Jace, Clary was swimming in her own nightmares.

Her nightmares seemed to be a repeating movie of herself and Jace being pulled apart brutally and Clary having to watch as Jace was killed. It was so real for Clary that she would wake up, drenched in sweat, tangled in the sheets of her bed, with tears streaming down her face. It would take her a few moments to remember that Jace wasn't dead…yet.

And that was the worst part for Clary. She didn't know if Jace was even alive. She would convince herself over and over again that Jace hadn't _done_ anything, so he shouldn't have been punished. But she didn't know!

Clary tried to take her mind off Jace by running laps around her room, but she'd just fall down in bed, tired, and be reminded of Jace's ability to run indefinitely. It seemed like everything reminded Clary of Jace, that he was everywhere in her life, and it was tormenting her.

In the few moments that Clary was able to think of something aside from Jace, it was that last day in the laboratory. She could remember feeling those dark things as they crept toward her, like floating clouds of decay. They had sapped the life from Clary, and she had fallen apart. It worried her, that she was supposed to be so powerful, and yet she seemed so weak.

She also felt a prickling of fear for her friends, especially Chloe, who had been the cause of their punishment. Clary was scared that her friend might be hurt if not killed, and all because her doctor had made her angry. How was it fair that they were going to be punished for what these people did?

But this just made Clary think of Jace, and how angry he had been when Enright had locked her in a cage. Jace had been furious, so mad he'd looked animal like. Was that how they were all going to be? Were they slowly going to deteriorate, slipping away from humanity and into something that _had _to be caged and drugged?

Clary glanced around her, at the bare walls, the locks, and the feeling of being watched. They were already caging them, already taking preemptive measures. Was this going to be how the rest of her life was? Watching the world pass by behind bars?

_It won't matter where I am as long as I am with Jace,_ Clary thought.

_And you will be_, whispered a cruel voice in response. _You and Jace, together, alone, a small room like this…_

Clary's eyes popped open, and she shuddered. She didn't think that she was nervous to be with Jace, and she knew she was more than ready to take another step with him, but it wasn't right. Clary felt like something important was being taken from her. Like all the romance and heart-felt love was being stripped away by the people in white.

Once in a while, when Clary would be sitting at her table, staring at her papers, Davidoff would come in and watch her. At these times, Clary would feel an uncontrollable anger, something that gnawed at her insides. It was a festering anger that enlarged the hole where Jace had once been.

"What do you want?" she snapped, never taking her eyes off her paper.

"I've just come to see how you were getting on," he would answer simply, as though her behavior was uncalled for and rude.

"I'm doing wonderful, absolutely perfect," Clary snarled. She'd bare her teeth in a fake grin and then return to her work. "I suppose, because you are here but haven't brought the restraints, that this is just a friendly visit. You haven't come to let me see Jace."

"Clary, we're keeping you and Jace apart for a reason, and that is because Jace acts very inappropriately when you're around him. We're giving him time to clear his head." Davidoff's words were well meaning, but they were said with such a nasty smile on his face that Clary wanted to hit him.

"Jace will be better if you let me see him," Clary ground out.

"I beg to differ, and since I've seen him, I would know." He was driving it in, grinding his knife into Clary.

Clary carefully set her pencil down and took a deep breath. "Either let me see him, or get the hell out of this room."

"Violent, Clary, very violent. I don't know what to make of that," Davidoff sighed, though he was trying to get Clary to rise to his taunts.

"Make a note of it!" she snapped, and then spun about to glare at him. Her eyes were burning in him, but he just stared back, nonplussed.

"Clary, if you continue on this path, the doctors may have to medicate you, and that could end very badly for you. You don't want to have this in your permanent record, do you?"

"If you don't let me see Jace, I don't care what you do."

Dr. Davidoff considered this. It made it very plain that Clary was to the point of doing anything for Jace. She was willing to take any drug, try any therapy, do anything to see Jace again. It was a reassuring thing to know, and Davidoff recorded it in his notes that Clary was a perfect subject, very easily bent to his will.

Whenever Davidoff visited Tori, he found her soaking in the bathtub, as if she cared for nothing more in the world then her complexion and the bags under her eyes. She would tell him that she was fine and that she was bored, and she knew what happened was a mistake, but that she regretted not helping Chloe. Davidoff knew that Tori was hiding something, but that she was too good an actress and too well connected to be disturbed. He chose to leave her alone as her gift was usually well contained.

Tori, for her part, was as cunning as fox. She discovered she was able to use her powers to listen for the approach of Davidoff, and that she could quickly hide her real emotions behind an impassive mask. When Davidoff wasn't around her, Tori was in a constant state of unstable power. She'd often find herself struggling to stop waves of energy from bursting out of her and burning everything in the room.

She suspected that her inability to control her powers was due to two things: the removal of her medication, and the fact that she had been attacked by the demons Chloe had summoned. It worried her that her powers were out of her control and that she might be hurt by her mother if she couldn't get a grip on herself.

To calm herself and direct her powers, Tori would try to cast spells that would turn the paper she'd been given different colors or shape it differently. She managed to keep her head as the days passed her by.

The only time she lost complete control was when she wasn't being watched. Her mother would come into her room, a slinking smile on her face, and the two would have a chat. Tori would usually sit alone after, shaking and crying. She hated her mother so much.

Simon was very much in the same boat. His powers weren't nearly as unstable as anyone else's, so he found himself bored very often. He'd sit and draw pictures, mostly of his friends. He tried to draw everyone, but found it hard to capture the image of Jace and Clary. He figured it had something to do with the fact that they were shadowhunters. Maybe they were beyond drawing.

It helped him anyway to sit with pencil in hand and stare at the paper. He was visited once in a while by Dr. Davidoff, who would ask him a series of questions about his life at the Edison Group compound, and how he liked being with his friends. Simon just stared and answered in short sentences. He didn't trust the man, didn't like the man, especially not the way he treated Derek. Simon would always end the conversation by asking when he was allowed to leave. Dr. Davidoff would smile at him sadly and say, "When we know you're better."

The only person who seemed to be giving the doctors a hard time was Jace. He couldn't calm down, and he stalked around the room like a caged lion. His body was often caught up in painful tremors and he had vivid nightmares that would wake him in the middle of night. He would find himself twisted so much in the blankets that he couldn't move.

The nightmares would always start the same. He and Clary, together in the institute, and then a strange blond man would storm in, and tear Clary out of his arms. He'd drag her, kicking and screaming away, and Jace would try to follow, but someone would grab him. Jace would spin around and it would be Valentine. Jace would beg the man he'd called his father for so long to help him, but Valentine would just stare at him, disgusted. Slowly, he would reach his hands up and twist them in Jace's hair painfully.

"What have you _done_?" Valentine would demand, and then he would throw Jace to the floor. "What are you?" Jace would catch sight of himself in the mirrored walls, and his face was strange, his eyes turned up and catlike, with little fangs poking out of his mouth. Valentine would kick him. "Stay away from my daughter."

"Please, help me!" Jace would croak, and then the dream would end.

It haunted Jace that he dreamed of Valentine, and it scared him, because he often wished Valentine was there to help him. But now, would Valentine ever help him? Now that he was this animal, would Valentine let him live?

Jace suspected that the removal of medication, and also having Clary taken away was making him have such horrible dreams. And it also made him easily angry. So angry he kicked things, and broke things, and snarled at Davidoff. Dr. Davidoff frowned and told Jace that. And that left Jace twisting his fists in the bed spread, teeth bared in a horrible grin.

Slowly, though, Jace felt the absence of his friends, and it was confounding his anger. He felt like every day was a year, and they were driving him gradually to madness. He finally resolved that he was never going to see Clary again, and a great emptiness opened up on him. Emptiness he hadn't felt since Valentine had abandoned him.

And then, so suddenly, Davidoff came and smiled at him. "Do you feel like you've managed to calm yourself, Jace?" Jace stared at him, hopelessness washing away any anger. "Then I have good news for you. We're going to let you return to the nursery. You can go back to Clary."


	8. United Again

United Again

"Magnus, tell me you can break into that place." Isabelle was kneeling in the underbrush of the tree line, staring down the sloping hill to the Edison Group Compound. She saw the circle drive that passed by the white steps and the huge double doors, and thought how easy it would be to simply walk up, glamoured, and waltz though those doors. She'd stomp through those halls, kicking anyone through a wall who tried to stop her, pull the door open, and carry Jace and Clary out together.

Magnus eyed the deceivingly simple building. "It'll take some time, actually. There are protective wards around it, many wards, and they're powered by something inhuman, something not from this world."

"Can you send Jace and Clary a message through the wards?" Alec asked. He strained his sight, thinking maybe he could see the shield if he looked carefully.

"No, it's too powerful of a ward," Magnus sighed. He glanced down to one of the windows as he saw someone pass by. "Where's Max?"

"He's coming right now," Isabelle said softly, pointing down the slope. She watched the little figure trundle carefully up the hill, keeping to the shadows of the trees. When he reached them, there was a light in his eyes.

"There's a back yard!" Max whispered excitedly. "I saw it. There's this huge fence around it, it looks electrified, this big yard. There's a pond, a swing set, and a basketball hoop. And I saw a door! A door in the back." Max hopped up and down, all his seriousness quashed by the idea of seeing Jace sooner.

"They let them outside for exercise?" Alec asked, rather stunned.

"It's probably good for them to get exercise," mused Magnus. "Their hormones are probably going crazy."

"They can blow off steam," Isabelle said softly, and she tried to picture Clary or Jace running laps around a grassy field. It didn't sit well with her.

"Should we concentrate on that door instead?" Alec asked softly. "If it's where all the kids come out, then it might be less guarded than the front."

"Yes, I think that might be best," Magnus said thoughtfully. "Let's go."

Magnus, Isabelle, Alec, and Max struggled down the hill, keeping just within the line of the tress. When they reached a small copse of bushes, they knelt down and wriggled into the bush, becoming nothing but four pairs of curious eyes.

There was a wall, at least ten feet high, and it ran the length of a large open grassy field. There was, just as Max had said, a swing set, and basketball hoop, and glittering in the sun, a blue pond. It was also very empty. If they had been hoping for a spotting of Jace or Clary, or any of the other children, they were disappointed.

But their glimmer of hope was that the door they spotted didn't seem to be well protected. It was just a door, probably with an alarm of some sort, but still comparatively unprotected. Isabelle stared at the wall, considering.

"Do you think there's a charm on the wall?"

Magnus laughed. "Of course. It's rather powerful too, so I'll have to work on it. As for the door, I'm not sure if it's been spelled, but I know there will be some sort of alarm on it. The challenge will be getting past the wall."

"Do you think they're there now?" Isabelle asked softly. "Maybe they are, you know? Just inside that door." Isabelle was looking at the door with a furious preoccupation, as if she could penetrate the walls by her will alone. A light came into her eyes suddenly. "We should go. Now."

Alec grabbed Isabelle's arm and held her back. "No, we need to know how the scientists are working this place. We need to keep a detailed watch for a while. We'll only get one chance, and if we fail, chances are we're dead and Jace and Clary are captive forever."

"I just don't want to wait!" Isabelle wailed.

"It's hard to just sit here, I know. But we need to give it time and concentration." Alec, paused, staring into his sister's eyes. "We don't want Jace or Clary to get hurt."

Isabelle sighed and then swept Max up into a fierce hug. "We'll wait, but only because it could hurt Clary and Jace."

Magnus, who hadn't been paying attention, was tracing strange runes into the dirt at his feet. Every now and then, he would mutter words in a different language under his breath, and the runes would glow softly before fading into the dirt. When he was done, he cast his handiwork a cursory glance, and shrugged.

"I've made a portal here, something that I'll be able to activate. So, the three of us can take turns leaving my home to sit here and watch. The only person who can use this portal is me, so I'll be able to choose who to send through."

"Magnus, it's brilliant." Alec flashed him a look of such gratitude that his words meant very little. "It's in the perfect place to watch."

"I do hope so, because it's the only one we've got," Magnus returned.

Isabelle still seemed stuck on the idea that Jace and Clary were just within reach, and she was staring fixedly at the backdoor. Max, who had become much more in tune to Isabelle's feelings, crawled over to her to sit beside her.

"So, this is it?" he asked, eyes glowing. "Jace and Clary are there."

Isabelle picked him up and set him on her lap. "Yes, just in there. It shouldn't be that long before we get them out. Then, we'll take them back to Magnus's."

"But what about Valentine?" Max asked softly. "He's still looking for us. For them. What happens after we get them out?"

"It'll be one thing at a time, Max," Isabelle said decidedly.

* * *

><p>Jace didn't remember when the needle had gone into his arm, or when he'd passed out, but he did remember strange dreams.<p>

Valentine, standing over him, sneering at him as he struggled with something around his neck. Jace felt the contours of a collar tight around his throat, and knew Valentine was laughing at him. He looked up, looked for help, but Valentine's grey eyes didn't register the plea. Carefully, he crouched down by Jace and took his chin in his hand, it was like iron.

"What are you?" he asked, and then his face would melt away.

Then, there was Clary, sitting alone on a bed. Her hair was loose, the way he liked it, and she had her knees drawn up, her hands on her knees, her face tilted up. At first, he thought she was wrapped in a blanket, a white blanket that fit to the contours of her body, but, as he drew closer, he knew otherwise.

They were wings, beautiful white wings, curling around her body, which Jace now saw, was naked. Ever so slightly, she turned to look at him, and her eyes were wide with fear. He drew nearer and saw that her wrists were bound in chain, and she was trapped where she sat.

"Clary…" he began, but Clary shook her head frantically.

"No time, Jace," she said quickly, weakly. "They're here, they're watching. Don't let them hurt me."

"I won't," he said in one breath, but with another step, the vision faded, and all he saw was Clary's wide eyes.

Then there was the nursery, but it was horrible. The things in it were coming to life. The teddy bears were jumping at him, holding buttons and trying to cut his eyes out. The balls kept pummeling him. The toys were tiny marching armies. And he was trapped in a blanket, it was pinning his arms down, trying to choke the air out of him…he was fighting…trying to breathe…

"Jace, Jace, stop!"

Jace felt a strong grip on his arm shake him furiously. He kicked out, and his foot connected with something, but the grip didn't loosen. Jace thought for a moment how foolish a way this was to die, suffocated by a blanket, and then someone pulled the blanket roughly free.

"For the love of God, stop!"

Jace blinked furiously, his gaze darting everywhere as he came to his senses. He was in the nursery again, nestled tightly under a thick blanket and staring up into a pair of very green eyes. The eyes were narrowed in irritation, but Jace saw anxiety shadowing those green orbs.

"Derek?" Jace rasped.

"No, it's God," he said smartly. "Yes, it's me, now get up, quickly."

Jace fought off the blanket and managed to sit up. His head was spinning ever so slightly and he had a strange metallic taste in his mouth, but his vision was clearing. Derek was kneeling before him, and he had a restless energy about him, his eyes darting here and there, and his hair was mussed, like a wolf's ruff.

"What's going on?" Jace asked, trying to blink away the dots he was now seeing.

"They brought us all to the nursery," Derek said, turning his head ever so slightly to hear what was going on behind him. "We all need to get back to the fort we made. I think they're going to start those experiments soon-"

"Experiments?" Jace felt like his brain was coated in slime, like it couldn't process what was going on.

"Jace," he said slowly but loudly. "They're going to make us sleep with people. Are you listening?"

In a sharp snap, it all came back to Jace. He'd been dragged to a private cell, locked there for days, weeks. All he could think of was Clary, and how he'd felt all those days alone. The strange sensations that he was going crazy, and that all the anger he was trying to control was forcing itself through anyway. Knowing that without Clary, he wouldn't be able to function. And the loneliness, the confounding loneliness.

"Clary," he said at once. "Where's Clary?"

"All the girls are in that fort we built. I think the doctors are coming back soon. I heard them going on about some hormones they needed to give us." Derek knew at once that Jace was having problem with his motor skills, and he slid an arm under Jace's and hefted him up. "Come on, we need to hide."

Jace managed to stumble to his feet and limped beside Derek. The room was spinning faintly, and he kept having strange visions of the teddy bears diving at him, trying to scratch his eyes out. Up ahead, the little fort they had built some time ago was still there, like an imposing fortress. Jace knew, instinctively, that Clary was there.

"Jace!"

Clary came pelting out of the fort, eyes tearing up. She covered the distance so quickly that Jace barely had time register that she was coming at him before she hit him. Jace overbalanced when Clary caught him and the two crumpled to the floor. Clary landed on top of Jace and kissed him so fiercely that Jace was visibly stunned. His arms suddenly wrapped around her and he buried his face in her hair.

"Clary, it's okay, I'm here," he whispered. Jace could feel Clary shaking as she lay against him. "I'm here."

"I know," she whispered raggedly. "But how long? What if they decide to split us up again? I can't be without you! I thought I was going to die."

"You'll be fine, I promise, we both will. They won't split us up, and if they try, I'll find you."

Clary sat up and removed her weight from Jace, who seemed to be winded. He cupped her face in his hands, and just like before, he felt any pent up anger or energy fading. Clary was like a drug for him. Surely the doctors weren't going to split them up if she had this much control over him?

"Do we need to hide?" Jace asked Derek, not taking his eyes off Clary. He didn't care anymore about pride, or proving how brave he was, or what the doctors thought. All he wanted was Clary now.

"Yes," Derek said tersely, again turning his head to hear the voice of Chloe as she argued with someone. "Get in the fort. We'll all hide in there. It's safest now."

Carefully, Clary helped Jace to his feet and the two managed to walk to the fort and crawl through the entrance. Derek followed immediately, and once more, they were surrounded by the warm dark that the fort offered. There was some small comfort in the knowledge that they were surrounded by their friends.

"Jace!" Chloe crowed, and she crawled forward to hug him. "We were all so worried that they were going to keep you locked up."

"Nice to see you, kid," Simon said, slouching forward so Jace could see him. "Didn't know if they were going to let you go."

"I'm fine," Jace said around Chloe's hair. "I don't remember much between the cell and here, so I can't say that I missed you much." Then he laughed, and Simon punched him in the arm.

"Jace," Clary said, pulled him gently.

The moment Jace's eyes found Clary, he knew what she wanted. He winked at the assembled, and then clambered after Clary into a corner. Jace lay down on his back, making sure that Clary was placed between him and wall of pillows, and then he rolled over so they were facing each other. He stared very deeply into her green eyes.

"Clary, I never want to leave you again," he said softly. "I don't know what it was like for you…in those cells…"

"Horrible," Clary whispered, pressing herself against Jace. "I-I hated every moment of it. I thought you were dead for sure, and I knew I couldn't live without you. They know that now," Clary admitted shamefully. "I'm sorry I didn't try to hide it better."

"What?" Jace asked, his face the picture of confusion.

"They know now that I can't…I can't live without you," Clary lowered her eyes. "I'd do anything if it meant I got to keep you."

Jace was stunned by her words. No one had ever loved him so boundlessly. He reached out and stroked her face, speechless. When he did find his voice, it was soft and rough. "You can't?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "Of course I can't. Could you? I spent all those days locked in my cell panicking. I would scream at Dr. Davidoff, beg to see you, be sick, and have these horrible nightmares." Jace blinked, thinking of his own time had been strangely similar. "I couldn't even draw; it was like I couldn't focus on anything without you around, and I'd just stare at the paper."

Jace thought of his own experience trapped in his cell. He couldn't remember it all too clearly. He knew he'd been mad, and he knew he was unable to control himself. He'd also had the nightmares and the sickness. It seemed as though he and Clary were very much alike.

"It was the same for me," he croaked. "All of it."

"I guess this is the end of our rebellion, though," Clary mused, looking over at Chloe and Derek, who were very much the same as she and Jace. "It's not too confusing for the doctors now. They know how we feel about each other, how Derek feels about Chloe and Simon. How Simon even feels about Tori. We can't fight when they know our weaknesses."

Jace was reminded of Valentine and his hatred of love. In some ways he was sickly right. "It's not weakness, not really," Jace said firmly. "Not if you're strong enough to do something horrible."

Clary stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're strong enough to let me…sleep with you, because you love me. That's bravery, that's strength." Jace kissed her lightly.

"I don't need to be strong to sleep with you, and you know it," Clary replied. "I just need to be conscious."

Jace laughed, but he pulled Clary closer to him all the same. "You, Clary, are perfect."

"If you say so-"

"Hey, Chloe! Where are you guys?"

Clary and Jace fell silent, confused. The voice had come from outside the fort, but everyone was inside already. Clary glanced toward Jace, wondering if he knew any better what was going on, but he was frowning. Instead, Jace looked to the other four children, who were all sitting up, eyes wide, like an electric shock had just shot through them all.

It didn't seem possible for her to be here again, Chloe was sure. She had escaped, run off, found her mom. How had the Edison Group tracked her down again? More importantly, could they trust her? She had turned on them, traded them to the Edison Group for nothing more than a promise.

Derek didn't think so, obviously. He was growling deep in his throat, showing his fangs, which were out indeed. His eyes had turned very green and were glowing in the dark. Jace assumed almost at once that this new person was dangerous. He sat us, pushing Clary behind him and waited to spring into action.

"Chloe! Come on, girl. I'm sorta freaking out in here."

Chloe looked rather sick. "Rae."


	9. Dissention in the Ranks

Dissention in the Ranks

Clary was straining to get around Jace, to see what was making the other children so tense. Jace was, of course, doing his best to insure that she was pushed back against the wall. She saw Chloe and Derek looking between each other with frowns, and Tori and Simon seeming on the verge of going out. Jace cleared his throat.

"Excuse me?"

Derek shot him a quick look. "Rae…she was with us at Lyle House the first time. She betrayed us to the Edison Group a while ago. She liked it here." His lips were drawn back in a snarl. "I was wondering when they were going to throw her into the mix. You can't trust her."

"What is she?" Jace asked curiously. If the Edison Group was so intent on having her, she must be genetically altered somehow. But what was she? They had a warlock, a witch, a necromancer, a werewolf, and two shadowhunters. What was left? A vampire? Jace thought of Simon, Clary's best friend, with his stupid Dungeons and Dragons and his dorky glasses, and his dumb band…He decided he didn't really like Simon at all.

"Half demon," Chloe said softly, shooting Derek a disapproving look for his loud snarl.

"She's what?" Jace gasped, suddenly shoving Clary back. "What the hell do they think they're doing with a half demon?"

"Jace, be quiet!" Chloe hissed, waving her hands around.

"Keep her away," Jace growled. "Keep that filthy demon away." Clary thought Jace looked somewhat animal like.

"We can't." Derek moved a little closer to the entrance. "It's not like she's not going find us here."

"I don't care," Jace hissed. "If she comes near Clary, I'll kill her."

"Jace!" Clary yelped, shocked.

"Hello?" Rae called, hearing Clary and Jace. "I heard that. Chloe, come on, please, we need to talk. I need to tell you what really happened."

"Derek," Chloe said, her tone uncertain and scared. "Maybe we should let her explain. Maybe there really is something going on."

"Chloe, she _sold _us to the Edison Group!" Derek snarled.

"Bro," Simon said carefully. "She's right. Rae ran off from this place, so I'm guessing she figured out how messed up these people are. She's probably really scared and confused. We ought to give her a second chance."

"Chloe!"

"Derek, come on, let's go find her," Chloe said decidedly.

"But, Chloe-"

"Who _is_ she?"

"Rae!" Chloe cried over Derek and Jace. "Rae, I'm coming. One second."

Derek whined after her like worried wolf, but Simon and Tori just pushed past him and crawled out the hole. Jace and Clary came forward, though Jace did his best to keep Clary back. Derek gave them a warning look and then hurried out.

Clary decided she felt very defenseless in the open of the nursery and clung close to Jace. The two of them followed the backside of Derek around mounds of stuffed animals and into the center of the room. On all sides were toys and blankets, piles of pillows and plushies, and even a few stacks of books. In the middle of it all, sat Chloe, and across from her, a girl that Jace and Clary had to assume was Rae.

Jace's first impression of Rae was not a good one. She sat hunched over with a hunted look on her face. She was wearing clothes too big for her, and they hung off her arms and hips. She was thin, but the type of thin that a person gained by sharply cutting back on their diet. When she pushed her thick brown hair out of her face, Jace saw a pair of wary dark brown eyes.

For her part, Clary thought she was pretty and sad looking.

"Chloe," Rae said breathlessly. "Where are we? What's going on? And who are _they_?" She pointed rudely at Jace and Clary, who balked when the tip of her finger flamed up.

"Hold up," Derek said darkly, holding up his hands and staring at Rae accusingly. "You answer us first. You've got a lot of explaining to do, Rae."

Rae glared up at Derek. "And you too," she snapped back. "You're a werewolf!"

"You're part demon," Jace cut in, and Derek cast him a swift look.

For the first time, Rae really looked at Jace. She saw the sneer on his face and had to admit grudgingly that he was the handsomest boy she'd ever seen. The girl beside him was small and delicate and pretty. "And who are you?"

"The most charming person you'll ever meet," Jace sneered.

"Watch it, kid," Rae warned, her fingers beginning to turn red.

"Rae," Chloe said firmly, and took her hand. "I don't want to be rude, but we want to know what happened, and it's hard to trust you after…well, after what happened."

"Chloe," Rae began with a sigh. "I just wanted to see my mom again, and they said they could take me to her. That's all I wanted."

"So, you lied to us and then betrayed us to the Edison group?" Chloe heard the anger in her voice. "How could you?"

"I just wanted to see my mom!" Rae snapped. "Do you know what it's like to never know your parents? To have to wait and wait, and dream that one day, they're just going to show up and take you away? Well, I was tired of waiting. And Dr. Davidoff offered me what I wanted. You certainly weren't."

"That's no excuse," Derek said simply. "I never knew my parents. Chloe never knew her mom. Clary never knew her dad."

"Not that I'd want to," Clary cut in, and Rae looked at her sharply.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Clary, and I never did know my dad." She stared at her squarely, or tired to. Jace was still trying to push Clary behind him. "And I'm curious what exactly you did to make these people distrust you so much."

Rae glared at Clary, hating every inch of her perfect little figure and face. Where did their pampered girl get off telling her about anything? "Bet that's just horrible, not knowing a dad you don't care to know. Well, I _wanted_ to know my mom, so shut it about what you don't know."

Jace hissed and grew very tense. "Watch it, demon," he said in a very deceivingly calm voice.

"Demon, huh?" Rae said in a petulant voice, but something about the way Jace was poised, looking like a cornered lion ready to spring, made her turn her attention back to Chloe. "Anyway, after you guys escaped that first time, it didn't take me long to figure out that this place wasn't where I wanted to be."

"Wasn't just our charming company?" Tori asked scathingly.

"No, though I must admit, I did _so _miss you, Tori." She smiled in a sickly fashion. "The scientists were in this sort of panic when they found out how you escaped. They didn't seem very interested in me or what I was doing, not even Dr. Davidoff, and he was always so interested in what I was doing. So, I decided to take some time to find out exactly what was going on."

"You looked on Dr. Davidoff's computer?" Chloe guessed at once. She had done the exact same thing not long ago, though she had Tori with her, who was a technical genius.

Rae shrugged. "Like I said, they were more worried about your escape than me. It took me a while to hack his server, but when I did, I saw a lot of information: names, dates, births, deaths…parents." She paused, her eyes shadowed. "That's how I figured out who my mom was. She was listed on his computer, and there was her last place of residence as well."

"That address had to have been wrong, though," Simon said with a frown. "I'm sure she went on the run."

"She did," Rae nodded. "Years ago. Anyway, one day, when the doctors left me alone in the game room, I just decided to go. I mean, if they weren't going to take me to her, I was going to go myself."

"So you just got up and left?" Derek's amazement seemed to insult Rae.

"Yeah, Derek, it doesn't take a genius to open a door. I told you, they trusted me, and they were much more worried about you guys. So I took advantage of their trust and got the hell out of there.

"I had my mom's last address and I went there. I knew she wouldn't have hung around, so I asked her neighbors if they'd known her. Luckily, one old woman who lived a few houses down did. She said my mom had moved to some suburb outside the city, which I went to next. I went to about three more houses in three more towns before I found her."

Chloe squeezed Rae's hand. She knew how important it had been to Rae to find her mom. "How was she?"

Rae's eyes seemed to water for a minute, and she clenched her teeth hard. "She's not…well. I think she had a hard time coming to terms with me being taken away, and with the pregnancy, and just everything. I think she was scared of the Edison Group."

"I'm sorry, Rae," Chloe said, and she was. Even though Rae had betrayed them, she couldn't help but feel sorry for this girl who had found her mom so destroyed.

"It's okay," Rae sighed. "I was happy to be with her. I think she sorta knew who I was too, but it was hard for her. I ended up taking care of her, though I was always listening for signs of you guys." She looked around determinedly, like she wanted them to know she still cared. "I never heard a thing."

"Well, that's how we wanted it to be, but the Edison Group caught up with us," Chloe said dismally. "They stuck us back at Lyle House with a bunch of new rules and tracking chips. Then they brought Jace and Clary in…"

"You two?" Tori shot over at Jace.

"Yeah, us two," he answered.

"Never seen you before," she said suspiciously.

"I'm sorry you've been robbed of the eighth world wonder for so long," Jace replied with a crooked smile.

"Got quite some ego," Rae said, looking Jace up and down.

Jace smiled wider. "My most charming trait, I must say. Now, though I love talking about myself, how did you end up here?"

Rae bristled at being told what to do by a boy with such a pretentious attitude, but she caught Chloe's eye and knew that's what they were all waiting for. "Well, one night while I was with my mom, the phone rang. Now, that's not supposed to happen because who would be calling a mentally unstable woman on the run? It was Dr. Davidoff." Rae's eyes grew cold and voice hard. "He said they knew where I was and who I was with. If I didn't surrender myself in a week, the Edison Group was going to come and take my mom." Rae sighed. "What could I have done? I certainly couldn't defend her, and wasn't going to run and leave her there."

"So you stayed and let them take you?" Tori spoke for the first time, her eyes glazed and sad. "Let me guess, my mom came?"

Rae seemed surprised to hear it. "You knew?"

"She told me about it." Tori shrugged. "Sorry to hear you had to put up with her, she's a bitch, major."

"Well, she stormed in, throwing spells around and scared my mom. My mom ran off to hide in her room, and I stayed with her for a few minutes to calm her down. But that woman was calling my name, telling me to come down before she had to tear the place apart to find me."

Jace was staring at Rae with an odd expression on his face. His eyes were blank and his face was pale, and Clary thought he was going to vomit. She reached out and touched his hand gently, and it was clammy. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but it worried her that his face was so closed.

Jace felt Clary's small hand in his, and it was reassuring but only in a small way. He clutched it suddenly, as images of the night he was taken flashed behind his eyes: Mrs. Enright binding his hands and feet, calling his phone to leave that horrible message, telling him he was never going to escape, that they would kill him if Clary didn't come for him.

Rae's position reminded Jace forcefully of his own helplessness and anger at these people, and wasn't used to it. He continued to stare at Rae, but he wasn't really seeing her, just seeing one more person made captive by fear and desperation.

"So you went down to find her?" Jace asked expressionlessly.

"Of course, and she was waiting. I don't remember much after I saw her. She told me I was stupid to think I could have run off without being found. Then she hit me with some spell, I don't know what, but I passed out.

"I woke up on a off as we traveled back here, but I think they drugged me. I was in the back of a car, and Mrs. Enright was driving with another woman. When we got here, the two women pulled me out and brought me to a big room with a bunch of medical equipment. They put a tracking chip in my arm and told me I was going to be placed with you. They walked me here and shoved me in, and then I called for Chloe, and she came. So, here I am and here you are."

Derek was still staring at her with a look of mistrust, but he was one of few. Simon and Tori were watching her carefully, but not with dislike. Tori wanted to trust Rae, even though the two had never gotten along. Simon had always liked Rae, she had been nice enough, and had a good sense of humor. Chloe had given in to Rae's pleading, and was holding her hand to the sound of Derek's growls. Clary had managed to maneuver around Jace and was watching Rae curiously, though not cruelly. Jace alone of everyone was as trusting as Derek. He stared at Rae, hating every bit of her, because she so reminded him of his own helplessness.

"That's what you say," Derek said in a low voice. He moved a little closer, placing a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "How can we trust it?"

Rae gave Derek a sour look. "Well, I'm here, aren't I? Which, consequently, I have no idea why."

Chloe exchanged a dark look with Tori and Clary, both of whom were thinking the same thing. "They wanted to get us all together, round us up, and keep us here. They think we're dangerous to society," Chloe said softly. "They're going to keep us here forever."

Rae stared for a minute. "Okay, yeah, that makes sense, but why _this _room? What's the deal with the creepy nursery?"

Jace couldn't help himself. "They think that we're dangerous, and if they put us in a room like this, it'll keep us calm and content, and we won't overreact to anything. Of course, they're wrong."

"Really?" Rae glanced at Chloe.

"I had an incident," Chloe said, blushing. "They locked us up separately for a few weeks; we've just all been allowed to return to the nursery."

Rae nodded. "This is the weirdest place in the world," she announced. "So, what? We just stay locked up in here for the rest of our lives? Are they doing tests on us? Are they keeping notes, are they-"

"They're going to make us sleep with each other," Tori said loudly, looking down at her feet.

"Excuse me?"

Chloe met her gaze steadily. "Dr. Davidoff told us that the Edison Group wanted to make sure that the changes they worked in us didn't make us incapable of reproducing. This way, they know if the genetic changes can be repeated for other supernaturals and allow them to live normal lives."

"That's disgusting," Rae snarled, looking at the three boys. Simon and Derek, she was used to, but this Jace, he was ridiculously handsome. Rae inconspicuously looked down at herself and blushed. "And how are they going about that?"

"They've paired us off, and they've taken us off our medication," Chloe explained gently. "They didn't say when, but soon, I think."

Rae wanted to say she was surprised, but she wasn't. She didn't think there was anything these people wouldn't do. She glanced again at Jace and hoped he wasn't her chosen partner. Very cautiously she directed a question at Chloe. "Who am I going to be…working with?"

Chloe very carefully glanced at Simon and then at Derek. "I think it's you and Simon. Me and Derek. And Jace and Clary."

Sighing in relief, Rae made and sympathetic face at Simon. "Well, go figure. So, what's the deal with Jace and Clary? How did you two end up here?"

Jace still felt like Rae's demon side made her dangerous, but Clary leaned against him and very gently, pinched his side. "Our father made a deal with the Edison Group when we were born. He tried to hide us, but it didn't work out well. Mrs. Enright tracked me down and used me to get to Clary, and she brought us here."

Rae frowned. "Why hasn't your father come to get you?"

Clary flushed. "Because he's a monster! I hate him, and he treated us like we were nothing." Derek was looking worriedly at Jace, wondering if he was as furious as Clary, but his face was white as snow. "I'm not sure we're better here, but I know I can't go back to him."

Rae felt her mouth hanging open and snapped it closed. Looking and Jace and Clary, she wouldn't have thought either of them would have family issues. Jace, and his absurdly handsome face, and Clary with her delicate, delicate body, made her think of rich prep schools where kids got sports cars for their birthdays. "Can he be that bad?"

Jace laughed hollowly. "He raised me till I was ten. Every day of my life was hell. He is a horrible person, and a terrible father."

"That bad huh?" Rae asked, though her raised eyebrows hinted at sarcasm.

"Think what you want," Jace hissed. "I don't really give a damn what a miserable half demon thinks."

"You know what? Why don't you go fu-"

"Shh!" Derek hissed, looking over his shoulder, eyes fixed on something in the distance. "Someone is coming."

Rae glanced up, not wanting to listen to Derek, but knowing he was right. They all turned to stare at the hidden door. It opened very suddenly, and in came a collection of people they knew. The personal doctors for each of the children were standing in a line, facing them with strange smiles. Mrs. Enright pushed her way through the crowd and eyed the children coldly, before coming to rest on her daughter.

"Victoria, come here. You and I are going to have a small dinner and discuss new living arrangements." She gestured imperiously to her daughter. "Hurry, you don't need to be here for this."

Tori looked blankly at her mother. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, come here and do as you're told," she answered curtly, and snapped her fingers. "Now."

Tori still looked uncertain, but Chloe nudged her gently. There was no point in getting her in trouble. "When will I be back?"

Mrs. Enright shrugged. "When I feel it is appropriate. The others will certainly be up to no good. I don't want you mingling with these children."

Tori passed by the doctors, feeling their unfriendly gazes on her back, and stood by her mother uncomfortably. She looked at each of the faces of her friends, and saw the absolute shock and terror mingling on their faces. Tori decided then that while her friends were doing something her mother deemed "no good" she would work tirelessly to find a way out for them.

"Come along, Victoria," Mrs. Enright said brusquely, and she snagged her daughter and led her to the door.

"What's going to happen to them?" Tori demanded in a whisper as her mother punched in the code for the door. "Why are the doctors here?"

Mrs. Enright pursed her lips. "The doctors are here to split the children up and prepare them for our first experiment."

_Experiment?_ Tori thought, and then her mouth dropped. "You're going to make them sleep together!"

"That's why I removed you," she said, as if this should be obvious.

They were out in the hall now, and walking along a corridor with many doors and poor lighting. "You're a monster," Tori said. "I can't believe you- actually, you know what? I do believe you would do this. You are terrible enough to allow something like this to happen to children. The best you can do is pull me out of it while you let innocent-"

Mrs. Enright's hand snapped against Tori's face and echoed down the empty hall. Tori listed against the wall and clutched her face, glaring at her mother. "Innocent? You think they're _innocent_? Those children are anything but. Derek is a mad dog. Chloe is one step away from the needle. Clary is half insane. Jace should be locked up. And Rae is a coward and a liar. They _deserve _this, and I'm only just generous enough to spare you. So you keep your mouth shut and stay in this room." She slammed her hand against the wall, and a door slid open. "I'm giving you half a chance to decide what you want to do with your life. You can either side with me, and reap the glory in that, or you can join those children and suffer along with them." She pushed Tori in and smirked at the bedroom, with its bed, computer, books, and window. "Look around you. You're already one step up from where you were. Do you want to go back?"

Tori kept her back turned on her mother, her face and pride stinging. The room wasn't any better than the nursery, really, it was worse. Here, she might have a window, and a computer, and a bit of freedom, but she didn't have her friends. She was completely alone and without the security and comfort of the other children.

"You think about this, Victoria," warned Mrs. Enright, and then she walked out, the door closing behind her.

Tori knew, just looking around, that she would rather be back in the nursery, living in fear with her friends, then here, without them.


	10. Reaching Out

Reaching Out

"This is going to be a mature discussion, do you two understand?" Dr. Madden said sternly, while Dr. Mika eyed Jace and Clary coldly. "I won't have you laughing or making jokes, because we don't have time to deal with it."

"Is sarcasm allowed?" Jace asked at once, looking very serious.

"Do you want to be punished?" asked the doctor, and he raised the small remote control to wave it in Jace's face. "I have little patience for you right now." When Jace made to speak he looked pointedly at Clary and added, "Or I could punish Clary. She might be more willing to do as I say, but I know she can use some encouragement any time."

Jace's face paled a shade. "Okay, I'll stop."

"We are going to be testing your ability to procreate. We have developed a schedule for you to follow. Three times a week, the two of you will be removed from the group to a separate room like the one you were kept in for solitary confinement. You will not be monitored, but I highly suggest you go through with it."

"Any particular reason why?" Jace asked, eyes narrowed in disgust.

"We will be testing Clary after the first week of the experimentation to see that she is pregnant-"

"What if I'm not?" Clary demanded, blushing furiously, and then glancing around to see how the other girls were taking it. They all seemed to be looking around them oddly. "It can take more than one try, you know."

"You had better hope you are, at least after the second week," warned the doctor. "If not, we may have to find an alternative way to see you there."

Jace growled low in his throat. "Alternatives?"

"I can very easily see Clary artificially inseminated. Do you think you'll like that?" he sneered at Clary, who was staring back in repulsion. "No, I don't think you will, so why don't we just assume you two are going to do what you're told? Once we know that you're pregnant, we'll terminate the pregnancy. It'll be very simple."

Clary and Jace both exchanged looks that said quite clearly it wasn't simple. Jace had a strange urge to lunge at the man and throttle him, but he could hear Clary's heart beat beside him, and it was enough to calm him down. Slowly, her hand crept toward his, and Jace felt Clary's thumb inside his palm.

"Now," Dr. Mika said, flipping through her notes. "We have you two starting tomorrow around…seven o' clock. I will come to collect you, and I will perform a short physical for you, Clary. I'll return at nine the next morning."

"Question: are we being fed?" Jace asked casually, as if what they were discussing was a normal as the weather.

"That'll be our decision," Dr. Madden cut in, smiling horribly. "So it is in your best interests to do as we say, and do it with a smile on your face."

"Is that all?" Clary asked, sounding angrier than she meant to. "Can we go?"

Dr. Madden and Mika exchanged quick looks and frowned at her. "I thought your attitude might have changed since your time spent in your room, but maybe we should keep you two apart," said Dr. Mika. "Would you like that? Jace can stay here with all your friends, and you can go sit alone in a room."

"Stop it," Jace hissed. "Clary, go sit with Chloe." When Clary just stared at him, his eyes softened and she saw the desperate look in his eyes. "Please, just get away from here."

Clary wanted to say no, but she rarely saw such a look on Jace face, and she felt like she owed Jace a little more than her stubborn determination. Very purposefully, Clary got up, gave Jace's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and then went to find Chloe. She was sequestered in the book alcove, having finished with her consult with her doctor, and was thoroughly engrossed in the book she was reading: _The Complete Works of Beatrice Potter_.

"How was it?" Clary asked, settling herself in the chair opposite Chloe.

Chloe took a moment to pull herself out of the children's book she was reading, and when she did look up, her face was flushed, with embarrassment or anger, Clary didn't know. "Stupid."

Clary had assumed this would be the answer. "I know what you mean. It's hard to take anything they say seriously when they're talking about me and Jace sleeping together. And I just hate the way they talk about it, casually, like it's some sort of agreement we've made together."

"They treat me and Derek like we're rats in a cage, and they can just tell us what to do." She slammed the book down and glanced over at Derek, who was speaking tensely to his doctor. "Did they tell you when you two were going to begin this?"

Clary sighed and stared at her feet. "Tomorrow. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Jace, I really do, but I just never thought it would happen like this."

Chloe nodded, she understood. She was sure she loved Derek, but she felt so young and so awkward to be in this situation. "It does sorta ruin everything."

Clary and Chloe both met each other's eyes and smiled weakly. It was hard for either of them to believe they were in this situation, but having a friend who was trapped with them made it just a little better. Just then, though, a loud huffing sound shook them both out of their thoughts, and they snapped to attention. Rae was slouching over, a frown on her face and her arms crossed. She joined the girls carefully though, not sure how they might take to her.

"How's Simon taking it?" Chloe asked kindly after a minute of silence.

Rae blushed. "He's being ridiculously nice about it, like he's trying to baby me. I mean, I know he doesn't think I'm pretty, but he doesn't have to smile at me like that."

"Like how?" Clary asked, wondering how Simon smiled. He'd always seemed so nice to her.

"Fake," Rae spat. "You can tell he doesn't mean it, but he acts like we're best friends, and he thinks I'm awesome, and he jokes around with me. It's really stupid."

"Maybe he's just trying to make you more comfortable?" suggested Chloe. "It's got to be awkward for him, so he's probably trying to make the best he can in such a short time."

"Well it's not helping," Rae decided, and then started twisting her hair around her finger. She eyed Clary for a moment and then smiled sadly at her. "It must be worse for you."

Clary blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Rae said, with a sidelong look at Jace. "I'd be a little nervous around someone who looks like him. When you guys first told me I had to sleep with someone, my last choice was him. Plus, he's probably done it before, so that would be even worse-"

"Rae!" Chloe cut in, looking angry. "Jace loves Clary. I don't think he cares if Clary has ever done it before."

"Oh guys like that always do," Rae said knowledgeably.

Clary was staring at Rae, but her mind was on Jace. Did he care? Maybe the reason he was so mad about the whole thing was because he didn't like her that way. Maybe she wasn't really pretty enough…well, who was she kidding? Clary knew she wasn't nearly as pretty as Jace was handsome, and it had always made her anxious. Jace said he loved her, but did that mean he wanted to love her?

Carefully, Clary looked over at Jace, who looked just as good as ever, and then glanced at herself in a reflective wall mirror. Her face was pale and blotchy, her hair messy and unkempt, and her eyes dull and flat. Rae was right, she wasn't good enough for Jace. It made her dread the next day even more.

"…he thinks she's great. You should have seen him when one of the doctors tried to separate them. He looked like he was going to kill someone."

"He loves her, but maybe he's not ready to take the next step?" Rae said quickly.

Clary glared at Rae. She knew she didn't deserve Jace, but she didn't need it rubbed in. "Are you talking about Simon or Jace?" she snapped.

Rae's mouth dropped and then snapped shut. When Clary saw Chloe, she was looking sternly at Rae. "Jace loves Clary, and they're going to be fine."

Rae nodded quickly and darted a look at Chloe. "Yeah, he doesn't care."

Though Chloe was certain there was nothing to worry about, Clary was almost sure she didn't have the nerve anymore to face Jace tomorrow night. She was quiet for the rest of the day, not really listening to what was being said around her, and drifting from the nursery to the game room without a thought. When dinner was served, Clary picked at a plate of chicken and potatoes broodingly, waiting and fearing the moment Jace would come to find her.

As she swirled her potatoes around her plate, the door opened and the boys streamed in, talking loudly and tersely. Derek was in the lead, already looking for Chloe, and Simon and Jace came in together. Clary saw Jace, in all his perfectness, and blushed. He met her gaze and smiled, but when she looked down, he frowned.

"Clary," he said softly, settling down beside her. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Clary glanced at him and was met again with his handsome face. "No nothing happened, I just…don't feel too good."

Jace's frown deepened and he placed his hand on hers. "It's just because of all of this, isn't it?" When Jace continued to stare at her, he smiled weakly. "Clary, we don't have to do this. If you just think you can't, I'll take care of it. I won't let them hurt you."

Clary was sure Jace meant it, but she didn't think Jace could keep such a promise. And how could she tell him the truth? That she was embarrassed to be around him? "I think I'm just nervous. Yeah, nervous."

Jace kissed Clary's cheek and then helped himself to some potatoes and chicken, and then focused on the conversation around him.

"…got to be a way out of here," Derek was saying in a measured voice. "We all got out once, didn't we? Maybe we can do it again."

"Yeah, Bro, but where would we go?" Simon asked, focusing more on his fork he was levitating than his brother. "We don't know where Dad is, none of our families can take us in, and we don't have money to live off of. We'd be on streets."

"Better on the streets than here," Rae said stiffly, thinking of her mother's broken home.

"Maybe we could go to the Institute?" Jace offered without thinking.

"The what?" Simon said, the fork clattering to the table.

"The Institute, it's where I lived before the Edison Group took me. My godparents live there, and Alec and Isabelle and Max. They're kind of like my siblings. It's like a safe house for shadowhunters." Derek and Simon both exchanged looks, and Rae raised her eyebrows at Chloe. Jace looked around at them. "What?"

"Jace," Derek said slowly. "It's a safe house for _shadowhunters_. Do any of us look like shadowhunters?"

For a minute, Jace stared blankly, then he finally understood. He had spent so much time with these children, learning to accept them, even _like_ them, that he had forgotten that they weren't shadowhunters, and they didn't belong at the Institute. Jace had grown up with so few friends, that it only made sense any of his friends did belong at the Institute. He was finally realizing that his friends weren't shadowhunters, and that he was absolutely okay with that.

"I…forgot," Jace admitted, lamely, he thought.

Derek and Simon both smiled, and Simon said, "I can see how it's easy to forget. I mean, seeing how much we act like shadowhunters and all."

"I'm just used to having friends who are shadowhunters," Jace mumbled.

"Welcome to life," Derek said sweetly, and he turned to Chloe. "There's no where you can think of?"

"We can't go to my dad," she said thoughtfully. "We don't know where your father is, Rae's mom is on the run, and Jace and Clary can't really go back to the Institute. It's either here or the streets."

"Perfect," Derek grumbled, and then picked at his food. "So, we're stuck here with these crazy scientists."

"Well, what about Isabelle and Alec?" Clary asked, looking at Jace. "They've been trying to find us with Magnus, haven't they? So maybe we could go live with them?"

"They live at the Institute, don't they?" Chloe asked shrewdly.

"No," Clary said, chewing her food thoughtfully. "They got in a fight with their parents after they thought that their parents gave Jace to Valentine. They were living with Magnus when I left them. So, unless, they forgave their parents and moved back in, they're still with him."

Jace was frowning meditatively. "This could work…I mean, Magnus is a warlock. He has no problems with werewolves or necromancers. He probably has enough room in his apartment for us to live until we find our own place. Plus, he has the ability to hide us with magic."

Simon seemed keenly interested. "He's a warlock?" It was obvious that Simon was thinking about having a mentor who could help him learn to deal with his expanding magic. "Is he a powerful warlock?"

Clary nodded. "He's the High Warlock of New York." She looked over at Jace. "Isn't he like eight hundred years old?"

"Yeah, I'd say he's got some sort of power, though he spends too much time thinking about glitter," Jace said contemplatively. "But we have to find him first, and I don't know if Alec and Isabelle are stilling trying to find us. They said they were searching, but I told them…" Jace swallowed and thought of the last time he'd written them. He'd told them to try and help, but if they couldn't, to leave him. Jace hated to admit it, but he regretted having told them to go. He would have given anything to have them searching everywhere for him. Though he'd never say it, Jace wanted someone to help him.

"I'm sure they are," Clary said firmly, though she didn't know if they had forgiven their parents. She hoped not, because it almost completely meant that they were now working for Valentine. "You know how Alec and Magnus are."

Jace nodded, though he didn't respond. Derek, though, was staring at Clary with a determined sort of look. "Do you think they'll come?"

Clary and Jace glanced at one and other, and Jace shrugged. "They might still be trying, but I told them not to risk their lives for me."

Chloe knew at once that the mood and moral were deteriorating fast. She reached out to rub Derek's shoulder, and thought for a moment he wouldn't like it, because it reminded him of a dog. But Derek just hummed low in his throat. "If their coming or not, we need someone to help us out. We can't do it on our own."

* * *

><p>Luke was settled on the chair in the hospital, staring at Jocelyn and trying to convince himself she was getting better. It was hard to look at her, so lifeless and drawn, and remember the woman she had been. The woman he had fallen in love with. And when he did think of that woman, he was reminded forcibly of her daughter. And that thought troubled him more than anything.<p>

The news that Jace had been kidnapped, and Clary soon following, had spread though the Downworlder population like wildfire through a forest. He had heard from Mia, who had rushed into his bookstore, panting with the news, and had at once made to call at the Institute. He had arrived there, determined to ring the truth out of Myrse and Robert, when they came rushing out, looking terrified.

He'd heard them arguing. Trying to figure out who the people who took Jace were. How they could get their own children back. And, worst of all, how they could escape Valentine, who had demanded their allegiance. He had drawn back, watching and listening, worried more than ever.

Luke had spent the last few weeks listening for any sound of Jace or Clary or Valentine, and so far, no one had anything to say. Whoever had taken the children was doing an excellent job keeping them away from the public, and where Valentine was, he was tucked away well.

So now, Luke found himself back with Jocelyn, wishing she were wake up to offer a kind word, if nothing. He reached out stroked a hair off her face, smiling weakly. He wondered for a moment if Valentine had ever down the exact same thing he just had, and then shuddered, knowing he had.

_Valentine, you're a part of this, _Luke thought. _I know you're responsible._

There was just now way around it; Valentine had to be the one responsible for the children's disappearance. He might not have taken them himself, but he had somehow been the reason for their kidnapping. Luke thought that if he could just find Valentine, speak to him, talk some sense into him, that he might be able to find Jace and Clary.

_And you need to find them,_ Luke told himself firmly. _Clary needs you, and even if he hates to admit it, Jace does too._

Luke had always known Clary would need help while entering their world, but he hadn't expected to meet Jace, and come to care so much for the boy. Jace was the one who worried him most, because he didn't seem to understand how to ask for help, or, for that matter, when to ask.

"I never knew your son, Jocelyn," Luke said softly, trying to find Jace in Jocelyn's face, "but he's so like you."

"You think so?"

Luke jumped to his feet, he fangs already out, preparing for a fight. In the doorway, leaning against the frame, was a boy. He had fine white blond hair, a face full of cheek bones, and very dark eyes that danced joyfully at Luke's nervousness. The boy seemed very relaxed, as if this was exactly what he expected to find, and smiled slightly, which simply made him look more dangerous. Luke forced himself to relax, but his fangs didn't recede.

"Who are you?" Luke asked cautiously.

"Do you really think Jonathan is like her?" the boy asked shrewdly, staring at Jocelyn. "I mean, what exactly has she done, aside from running off from her husband? Is that what you think? That Jonathan ran off from Valentine, so they're alike? They're both cowards?"

"Jocelyn is no coward," Luke said simply, watching the boy closely. "Who are you?"

The boy seemed to drag is gaze away from Jocelyn and smirked at Luke. "You don't know, Lucian? I thought you might recognize me as you seem so well informed of me."

"I've never been one for faces, but I know I've never met you in my life," Luke said shortly. "Now, please, go away. If you need to speak with me, I'll give you the name of place we can meet and talk-"

"We're going to talk now," the boy said, pulling himself off the wall. "You and me, Lucian, we need to chat. I need to ask you a few questions."

"Some other time," Luke answered, thinking he didn't want the boy anywhere around Jocelyn. His eyes, whenever they landed on her, seemed to darken.

"You know the Lightwoods, yes?" the boy asked, as though Luke hadn't spoken. "You must know about their ward, that boy, Jace?"

Luke bristled at the tone of voice the boy used when he spoke about Jace. "Yes, I know Jonathan. I've met him a few times. What is it to you?"

"His name is Jace," the boy said firmly, lip curling. "Do you know where he's gone off to?"

Luke frowned, inching closer to the boy. "What's your interest in him?" He blinked and then snarled. "Valentine sent you, didn't he? He wants to know where his children are."

The boy's face turned ugly quickly. "Jace _is not his son_," he hissed.

"Tell Valentine to leave me alone. I don't know where his Jace or Clary are, and if I did know, I wouldn't tell him. After what he did to his wife, I'd be scared for his children."

"Jace isn't his son!" the boy practically screamed, and then lunged to the bed, so he and Luke both stood over Jocelyn's unconscious body. The boy was breathing heavily. "Where are they?"

His hands hidden behind the bed, Luke carefully extended his claws. "Who are you?"

Slowly, the boy's face returned to that mask of pleasant interest. Except for his eyes, which remained just as cold and furious. He smirked. "I'm her son, Luke. "I'm Jonathan."


	11. Unexpected

Unexpected

Tori sat at her desk, typing furiously on the laptop her mother had tossed at her. She knew it was just a way to buy her silence, and she knew they were monitoring what she did, but she was going to take it. There had to be some way to use it to her advantage, to her _friends _advantage; she just had to find it. For a while, she had simply surfed the web, watching videos, visiting her favorite sites, blogging, nothing that might alarm the Edison Group, but all the while she was thinking of what she could do.

_Could I send an email? _Tori thought frantically. _No, there's no one to send it to. Maybe I could type a letter for help? I'd have to print it somewhere…_

Tori growled her frustration and leaned back in her chair. She just needed to think this through, and this room wasn't helping one bit. She stood up and began to pace backward and forward, cracking her knuckles and tossing her hair about. She just needed a place to be where she wasn't trapped and cornered.

For a moment, Tori wanted to just throw herself on the bed and forget the others. They didn't trust her, didn't expect her help, and maybe she shouldn't give it. Maybe they deserved what they got, maybe she was tired of taking their attitude.

But Tori knew after a second that she was going to help. Not because they deserved her help, but because she wanted to _prove _she could. She wanted them to feel bad about how they had been treating her.

Tori went back to her computer and sent an email to the Edison Group, asking for someone to please come and escort her to the backyard. It took about ten minutes, but suddenly the door opened and Tori was greeted by a man wearing a doctors' coat. He gestured for her to come, and then led her down a number of halls to a door that opened to what she deemed "the backyard". Tori stepped out into the open, feeling the cool breeze on her face, and she relaxed.

Slowly, Tori began to walk out into the grass, thinking more and more about the children trapped inside, and how helpless their situation was. She started to jog, but no solution was coming to her. She saw no way she could help the others escape, short of blasting the wall down and hoping they could all make a run for it. The faster she ran, the more she felt she was running in circles. Everywhere she turned, they Edison Group was there, no matter what she said, they were listening.

She had come to the edge of the field, and slowed down, her thoughts consumed by despair. For a moment, Tori stood there, lost in nothing but bitter anger, and then she collapsed to the ground, silent tears leaking down her face. Tori pounded the ground with her fists, and sat back, staring up at the sky.

_At least they can't see me here, _Tori thought with a horrible smile on her face.

Up above her, far beyond her reach, the clouds were zooming across the sky, sunlight beginning fade and turn them pink. She was just thinking how nice it would be to be there, far above the world and her mother and her troubles, when a sharp snap made her jump. She stopped crying immediately, regretting that she had let any tears fall, and looked frantically around her for the source of the noise.

The door to the Edison Group was still closed, no one had come out to find her. There were no birds in the sky, they certainly couldn't get past the shield her mother had put around the compound. Not even a breeze was shaking the trees in the yard.

_But something is shaking _those _trees_, Tori thought, looking beyond the fence to where freedom waited. And something _was_ shaking the trees, something with strange green eyes and…sparkles?

"Hello?" Tori called tentatively, quickly composing her face. "What do you want?"

The tree stopped moving but the eyes continued to stare, though they blinked and narrowed suspiciously at her. Tori stood carefully and watched the green eyes. Slowly, she padded over to the edge of the wire fence and peered closer.

"I can see you, you know?" she called, and was pleased to hear how even her tone was. "Yeah, you, in the bushes, I can see your eyes."

The eyes blinked again, and then, quite obviously, rolled upwards. "No, really?" asked a female voice, and then someone angrily shushed them.

"Who are you?" Tori demanded, and watched as the eyes vanished, only to reappear, with a twinkling in them.

"Well that might depend on who _you _are," said a man's voice this time. "What's your name?"

"Show me your face first," Tori ordered imperiously. She wasn't going to be cowed by some unseen person and his girlfriend.

Someone groaned exasperatedly, and the bushes parted for a face to show itself. Tori felt her face turn to something like ugly shock. It was a man, at least partially Asian, with glowing green cat eyes, spiked black hair, and, dare she say, covered in body glitter. When he saw her gaping, the man winked and then laughed.

"So," the man said casually, "who are you?"

Tori gulped and tried to look over his shoulder; there were other people there, but she couldn't see them. "I'm- I'm Victoria Enright."

"Tori?" the man asked. "Excellent. We were hoping we might run into one of you."

"Excuse me?" Tori asked, trying to regain control of her features.

The shushing in the bush burst into a scuffle, and then the bushes parted and a young boy rolled out, followed by a very pretty girl with thick dark hair. The boy almost reached the fence when the girl grabbed him and pulled him back, struggling with his tiny fists. Tori stared.

"That's the witch," the boy panted. "She knows Jace, she knows Jace!"

"Max," the girl said furiously. "Max, stop it."

Tori continued to watch the two fight, but her mind was working feverishly, trying to put two and two together. They knew Jace…Max…the warlock…Isabelle…?

"Stop it, now." A young man appeared, dark haired, pale, with shocking blue eyes. He pulled the two apart, and swung Max into his arms. "Just because she knows Jace doesn't mean that they're friends-"

"Alec?" Tori asked finally, stumbling toward understanding. "Alec Lightwood?"

Alec started and Max stopped making faces at his sister. "Yes," Alec said carefully.

Tori felt her heart beat faster. "And Isabelle and Magnus? You're Jace's family? You followed us here?"

"No, this is just a vision," Magnus said, smirking.

Tori gave an excited cry and lunged to fence. "Are you here to help us out? Did you come to get Jace and Clary?"

Alec peered closely at Tori, but he couldn't mistake the hope in her eyes for anything else. "Yes, we've been trying to find you for weeks. We just missed you at Lyle House, so we followed you here. But the protections around his place are…"

"Formidable," put in Magnus. "Do you know the protection around this place, Tori?"

"My mom did some spell, but there's something else they haven't mentioned. Something else that they're using to create a shield around this place."

"That figures," said Magnus, eyeing the fence. "There's probably some demon energy being used to make a shield."

"Listen, Tori, is it?" Isabelle said, not much caring about Magnus and magic. "You've seen Jace and Clary, right?"

Tori gave Isabelle a sharp look. "Of course I've seen them," she said with an expressive sigh. "Not that it's helping them in there."

"Are they okay?" Alec asked quickly. "Are they acting normal?"

"Normal? What's normal to us?" demanded Tori.

Magnus gave Alec a firm look. "What he means," Magnus said, "is if they behave like they did when they first came here. Or, are they emotional, violent, dangerous?"

Tori considered Clary, who was always quiet and hidden behind Jace. She was just the same as ever. Jace, though, was behaving like a wild animal. He was violent whenever Clary was concerned, looking dangerous enough to kill someone.

"Clary is pretty normal," Tori said carefully, sensing a lot of tension in the air. "Jace is…not. He gets angry really easy and I think if Clary wasn't there with him, he might actually try to kill someone."

"That's his nature," Isabelle said evenly. "Shadowhunters have to kill."

Tori gave her a hard look. "Maybe shadowhunters do, but Jace isn't a shadowhunter anymore, is he? He's something much more than a shadowhunter, and he has to learn to accept that."

"What is _that _supposed to mean-"

"Jace is fine-"

"I want to see him!"

The Lightwoods were shouting angrily, which just made Tori draw back, but Magnus grumbled and then snapped his fingers. The Lightwoods all felt the air sucked out of their mouths for a moment. They lost their voices. Isabelle stared angrily at Magnus.

"So what's going on in there?" Magnus asked, his cat eyes glittering as he looked at the Edison Group compound.

Tori made a face. "It's insane. They treat us like we're animals, worse, actually." Tori rubbed her arms.

"Why are you the only one out here?" Magnus eyed her curiously. "If Jace and Clary were here now, I'd break the wall and we'd all run. Where are the others?"

Tori's eyes fell to the ground guiltily. "My mom is Mrs. Enright, the one who took Jace. She didn't want me to be a part of this experiment. So, while the others are in there, I've been moved to a private room."

"What experiment?" pressed Magnus, thinking it was lucky Tori was exempted.

Again, Tori looked down, but now, she seemed embarrassed. "I-I'm not really sure how to explain this to you." She looked sadly over at Alec and Isabelle. "Well, the scientists worked so many changes in us that they weren't sure if we could be all the normal things people do. They want to make sure that if they do this again to someone, it will allow those others to carry on perfectly normal lives."

"So what exactly are they doing?" Magnus urged, though he got the idea that what she was going to say was going to piss Isabelle off beyond belief.

Tori drew a ragged breath and hugged herself. "They've paired the children off, Jace and Clary, Simon and Rae, Chloe and Derek ,and they're making them…sleep with each other."

Isabelle tired to make a loud, outraged, Max's mouth dropped, and Alec went pale as snow, clearly shocked. Magnus blinked and said, "Excuse me?"

"Yes," Tori said. "They are forced to have sex, and the girls have to get pregnant; that way, the scientists will know it should be mostly safe. Afterward, they're going to terminate the pregnancy, so the girls should be okay, but…well, it's pretty disgusting."

Isabelle gave Magnus such a look that he balked and then waved his hand. Isabelle's voice came back with snap, and Isabelle was furious. She started spitting out curses and finally finding enough sense to speak.

"What the hell?" she snarled. "Who does something like that? Who do they think they are? I swear on the Angel that I'll kick anyone's ass if they try and make Clary and Jace-"

"Isabelle," Alec sighed, though his eyes were burning. "Swearing isn't going to get Jace and Clary out. We need to make a plan, and make it now. I take it we don't have much time before all of this starts?" he shot the last question to Tori, who nodded. He turned his attention to Magnus. "We need to get them out of there, and I don't care if you think Jace is dangerous. This isn't right."

Magnus bit his lip. "Tori, is there any way you can get them to take down the wards, just for a minute or two. Just long enough for us to sneak in. I can disguise myself and Isabelle and Alec and Max can make themselves invisible. Also, where is the window to their cell?"

Tori laughed with a very wicked light in her eyes. "They're keeping all the children together in a nursery." She pointed over her shoulders to the tall, almost completely windowless part of the building. "Those are the only windows."

Max made a face. "They're in a nursery?"

"It's a long story," Tori sighed, and then turned to Magnus who was eyeing the small windows with a calculating look. "All you need is a minute, just a minute?" Magnus nodded and she smiled. "Yeah, yeah I can give you that."

* * *

><p>Jace watched as the door closed ominously on him and Clary, and he thought longingly of the nursery where he had left Derek and Simon with a hopeless grin. He continued to stare at the door, trying to give Clary a bit of time to collect herself, before turning about and saying, rather frankly, "Well, this is going to be interesting."<p>

Clary was trying to rearrange her shirt after her very short physical, and was looking anywhere but at Jace. When he spoke, she took a deep breath and forced herself to look at him. "I can't believe that this has to happen. It's not fair."

Jace frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I guess I was just hoping…" Clary didn't know how to tell Jace what she was really hoping. She certainly didn't want to tell Jace she was nervous to be near him because she didn't think she was good enough for him. "I was just hoping that Isabelle and Alec might have come before it got this far."

"I did too," Jace admitted. "They were kind of like my last hope."

Clary met his eyes finally and she nodded. "Maybe it's better they didn't come. I mean, it's not like they could break us out here. Legally, we do belong to the Edison Group. And-"

"Clary!" Jace said, shocked.

"And maybe we do belong here," she said firmly, feeling her throat tighten. "Maybe we are dangerous."

The empty look in Jace's eyes was enough to make Clary stop. She was nervous and scared, and she had just been saying whatever had come to her mind. She hadn't meant to hurt Jace, it had just come out.

"What are you saying?" Jace shook his head helplessly. He knew he was dangerous, that much was clear. He'd proven it over and over again whenever someone threatened Clary. But he had spent his life thinking he was protecting people, and it was hard to admit that he was a danger. "You think this is alright?"

"No!" Clary threw up her hands. "No, I don't think it's alright, but I just don't know what else we can do. Is it safe for us at in the Institute? Can we ever go back there?"

"I-I don't know," Jace murmured.

"And what about Valentine?" Clary cried, wrapping her arms around herself. "What if he finds us? He's always looking. What will he do to us?"

"I don't know," Jace said louder, thinking of his nightmare, and the Valentine who turned from him with a sneer. "I don't know, Clary."

Clary fell backward onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. "What do we do, Jace? Even if Magnus can protect us, what is the point in escaping? We're going to be living in secret, hiding for the rest of our life."

Jace joined Clary on the bed and drew her against him. "Why are you thinking like this? What's wrong?"

Clary sniffed and watched as Jace twined his fingers through hers. She heard his heart beat, heard him draw a deep breath. Very gently, he kissed her neck. "Jace…do you think-think that I'm pretty?"

The hallow laugh that came from Jace made her glance up. He was smiling at her like she was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. "You are, without a doubt, the most adorable thing I've ever seen, Clary." Clary continued to stare at him, so he pressed his lips against hers and then held her face so she couldn't leave him. "Of course I think you're beautiful. I think you're the most beautiful thing in my world. Why are you asking me this?"

Clary, who was nervous enough to puke, felt the words come spilling out of her. "It's just that-that you're so…good looking," she finished lamely.

Jace's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, I'm flattered you noticed, not that I have much competition here, but why would that worry you?"

"Because I'm not," Clary sighed, exasperated. "I'm not like you."

"It would be rather odd, don't you think, if I was going to sleep with someone who looked like me, though it would be a good chance to admire the finer things in life."

"Jace."

He laughed. "Clary, I don't care what you say or do, I will continue to love you, so there's no point in trying to stop me." Jace leaned back, pulling Clary with him, until they were lying down. "I'm guessing you don't want to go through with this?"

Clary was still trying to grasp what he was saying, so she just shrugged.

"Our doctors," Jace said thoughtfully, "told us that we have two weeks to work things out. I have no intention of making this any more awkward than it has to be. So, I think, tonight, we can just enjoy each other's company." He saw Clary's eyes widen hopefully, and he wrapped her in his arms tenderly. "And, maybe, I can ally some of your fears."

* * *

><p>Derek and Simon looked up as Jace joined them, his face drawn and tight. "So," Derek said, trying, and failing, to look nonchalant. "How was your evening?"<p>

Jace shot him a dark look and collapsed on a pile of pillows. "Rather relaxed, if you must know."

Simon and Derek exchanged a look with raised eyebrows. Simon cleared his throat. "Relaxed? I didn't know it…um, worked that way."

It was a very cruel smirk that Jace wore now. "If you're doing it right, it is, but that's not what I meant. We didn't do anything. We have till the end of the week. Neither of us was comfortable with the idea."

Derek considered this and shrugged. "I can understand that," he said and cast an unsure look at Chloe and Clary, who were speaking in very low voices. "Is it that bad?"

Jace smiled and then glanced their way as well. "Not really, I guess, but like I said, we didn't do anything."

Derek turned his attention to the windows far above, and how the light was fading. The doctors would be coming for him and Chloe soon. Chloe had told him that she didn't care what happened, she would still love him, but that didn't mean it was going to be easy. There was nothing easy or even okay about what they had to do, but that wasn't going to change that it had to be done.

"Maybe that's best," Derek said decidedly. "Just at first."

"Yeah," Simon said, though his eyes narrowed. "But maybe not. It's almost like pulling off a band aid, isn't it? Get it over with as soon as possible. Do it fast and get it done with."

"For you that might be best," Jace cut in. "You and Rae aren't exactly lovebirds. You two want it over and done with in the least humiliating way possible. Derek and I have a few more feelings for our partners."

Simon flushed and Derek looked away. "Well, yeah, but Rae doesn't like me that much."

Derek made a derisive noise in his throat and then turned sharply to the door. He had heard the approach of someone on the other side, and knew at once that they were coming for him and Chloe. Part of him wondered if it might not be easier for him to just hang back and let them come, easier if he didn't go and try and protect Chloe, but he went all the same.

"…see, I told you Rae was wrong about Jace. Derek!" Chloe yelped when Derek appeared behind her and pulled her up. "What's going on?"

"They're coming," Derek said shortly.

"The doctors?" Chloe asked in shock just as the door opened and two people came in, walking purposefully toward them. Chloe squirmed in Derek's grip and then curled against him helplessly. "What do they-"

"Chloe, they're coming to take us," he answered tersely.

Chloe was about as stubborn as Clary, so when Derek tried to push her behind him, she fought back. Their silent struggle took only twenty second, but in that time, the two doctors had arrived and were waiting for them with impassive faces.

"Come with us, both of you." It was Dr. Burgedy, and he was staring at Derek, his eyes glowing.

Derek stopped trying to protect Chloe, it wasn't like it would make a difference. He growled a warning to Chloe and then followed his doctor through the nursery. They were lead down more and more grey halls with numberless doors and flickering lights. Chloe decided maybe it would be best to stay behind Derek as they walked; the numb faces of the people around them terrified her.

Dr. Burgedy stopped outside a door and looked at it, smiling for the first time. It was a cold smile that didn't reach his eyes and made Chloe press closer to Derek. "I believe you two know what to expect. Please, after you."

The doctor bowed them in and paused on the threshold. "I'll be back tomorrow to see how things have gone. Try not to enjoy yourself too much."

Chloe watched as the door swung shut and then turned to Derek. His eyes were guarded, like he didn't want to scare her. She offered him an uncertain smile. "Shouldn't be too hard."


	12. Freedom Visible

Freedom Visible

Derek very carefully bent his head and traced a line of kisses down Chloe's neck. Chloe wrapped both her arms around Derek's shoulders and clung onto him like he was the only thing holding her to earth. She was beginning to suspect that he might be. It seemed like whenever everything was going to fall apart, like a crack in the world was going to open up and pull her in, Derek would grab her hand and drag her back. As long as Derek was there, she could hold onto her sanity.

"Chloe, are you okay?" Derek asked gruffly, lifting his face from the crook of Chloe's neck. His eyes were wide, the pupils dilated, not blinking.

He was so worried that Chloe laughed, just a little giggle. "I'm fine Derek, better than fine. Don't worry so much."

A low growl came out of Derek's throat, and it reminded Chloe of a wolf. "I don't want this to be worse for you than it has to be."

Again, Chloe wanted to laugh. "It can't be that bad as long as it's you," she said firmly. "I know you're worried about me and how this is going to turn out, but you shouldn't be. I mean, it would have happened eventually, wouldn't it?"

Derek had to give Chloe some sort of credit. She really was going to make the best she could out of this. "I like to think so, but I wish it didn't have to be this way."

Chloe decided this wasn't going to be any easier with her pausing and stopping, so she rolled her eyes playfully and pulled Derek down against her for more kissing. Derek didn't know if there was anything wrong with it, and, truthfully, was very pleased with Chloe's choice of action, so he returned to his place on her neck.

They continued like this for a while, Derek carefully kissing Chloe, and Chloe gasping and clinging to him. It seemed like this was all Derek was willing to do at the moment, and Chloe was going to ask him if he was nervous, when he suddenly drew back, panting.

"Derek, what's-"

Derek fumbled off Chloe, hitting the floor with a very heavy thud, and then rolled away making small growls and moans. Chloe sat bolt upright, adjusting the position of her shirt and clutching the blankets around her. As she watched, Derek hit the chair at the desk and curled into a tight ball. He clutched his hair and twisted it aggressively.

"Stay away, Chloe," he spat, turning his face away from her before she could see what was wrong with him.

Sharp pain was racing up Derek's spine, branching out to his legs and arms, making a horrible pain pop behind his eyes. He knew it was the change, trying to overtake him. If it was that close to the full moon, he shouldn't be anywhere near Chloe, who could easily get hurt. He tried to push himself away, but his arms were on fire and couldn't support his weight.

Distantly, he heard Chloe struggling out of the bed and over to him. He tried to push her back, but his body wasn't responding to his commands. It was almost like trying to control his arms in the rush of a powerful river current. Chloe knelt beside him and rubbed his back, trying to calm him down, but Derek started to convulse.

"It's okay, Derek," she said softly. "It's gonna be alright. You're okay. I'm here, Derek, I'm here." It was just a string of nonsense, but Chloe liked to think it was helping.

"Go…" he begged raggedly, shielding his face from her eyes.

"No, Derek," she said firmly. "I'm not leaving you now. Not after everything."

He shuddered in her arms, and a muscle spasm raked through his back. Before Derek could stop it, a painful whine escaped his throat, and Chloe gasped. It seemed like the little control Chloe had managed to give him through her words and her touch, was forcing the change to fight back.

"Get away!" Derek rasped, and shrugged his shoulders. Chloe fell back, fetching up against the bed and watching him contort his body. "It's _you_…"

Chloe gasped and tried to hide her hurt. What did he mean, it's you? Did he mean that she was the cause of his sudden outburst? Was she the one who was making his change so violent? Carefully, Chloe crawled closer and tried to reach out for him.

Derek arched his back and howled. "NO!"

When he turned his face on her, Chloe saw what he had been struggling so much to hide. His eyes were turned, glowing yellow like a wolf's with dilated pupils. His mouth was wide open, long, glistening, white fangs extended. Even his ears had changed, pointed at the tips.

"Oh, Derek," Chloe murmured gently. "Derek, am I doing this? Is it me?"

Derek shivered and curled up defensively. "It's you…but not your fault."

"What do you mean? Can I come closer?" Chloe finally closed the distance between them and sat by his side. "Please, let me help you. I hate seeing you like this. This pain, if it's my fault, let me help you."

"Not your fault…just you!" Derek said with difficulty.

"Then it is my fault," Chloe said with determination in her eyes. "Let me help you."

Chloe stood up and went to the bed, pulling the blankets and pillows off. She piled the pillows beneath Derek's head and draped a blanket over him. He groaned something that sounded like a thank you, and curled up tighter. Chloe then went to the bathroom and wet a cloth. She found the cups the doctors had left and filled one with water. When she returned, Derek was there, panting and looking at her with a silent plea in his eyes.

"Here," she said, and then tipped Derek's head back, pouring the water down his throat. "Drink it all. It'll help with the pains and the fever. And I brought you this." Chloe produced the wet cloth and placed it on his forehead. He sighed, in pleasure for the first time.

Chloe watched him a moment, and then, with a decisive huff, she knelt down, lifted the blanket, and slipped beneath it with Derek. For a minute, he tensed, probably trying to decide if he should tell her off for coming too close or thanking her for trusting him. He gave in and wrapped both his arms around Chloe. She thought he might actually have hummed low in his throat, and then he fit Chloe against his body and tucked his face against her neck.

Chloe had to admit, she had expected a night like this…but still. She was certainly pressed against Derek in a way she had never been before. She was hyper aware of his body, touching up and down hers. Her heart was beating faster than it had in a while. And she felt like both she and Derek were seeing a part of each other they hadn't before. But she also suspected that the Edison Group wasn't going to find her version of events amusing.

A small laugh bubbled up in Chloe's throat and Derek kissed her shoulders, squeezing her closer to him.

* * *

><p>"Mom, please," Tori whined, forcing herself to sit on her chair and not jump up in her fury. "It's just a quick trip to the mall. Please. All I need is a few new shirts and pants."<p>

"And you expect me to take you?" Mrs. Enright asked, crossing her arms.

"No, not at all. Just send me out with one of your drones, okay?" Tori rolled her eyes for effect. "It's not like I've got anywhere to go. Plus there's a tracking chip in my arms. What could I _possibly _do if you sent me out for the day?"

"I don't trust you," she said flatly, glaring at her daughter. "You're too stupid to realize that I'm trying to help you, and you're more than likely to try and help those brats in the nursery."

Tori threw her head back and gave a very loud, exasperated sigh. "Those _brats_ don't even like me! Don't you get that? Because I'm _your _daughter, they all hate me. Why should I bother trying to help them when they think I'm a bitch?"

Mrs. Enright raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "You're blaming me?"

"Why does it matter whose fault it is?" Tori snapped. "They don't like me. And, you know what, I don't really like them!"

Very deliberately, Mrs. Enright crossed the small room and snatched up Tori's arm. She traced her daughter's vein until she found the tracking device in her arm. She pushed down on it until Tori gasped in pain, and then took Tori's chin in her hand. Tori shuddered at the iron grip holding her up.

"Three hours," Mrs. Enright said simply. "I'll send you out with one of our operatives and they'll take you to the nearest mall. If I get wind of any type of struggle, any fight, I will personally make you wish you'd never been born. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Tori said thickly.

"You won't try to contact anyone while you are out of this compound, and if you do, maybe I'll punish one of those _brats _you perfuse to hate so much." She searched her daughter's face and didn't see anything in her eyes that might have given Tori away. "You will stay at all times with the operative, and they will have permission to use force on you."

"Yes," Tori sighed.

Mrs. Enright snapped up and smiled sickly. "Be ready in ten minutes."

"Yes," Tori said after her mother.

As the door closed behind her, Mrs. Enright didn't see the small smile spread over her daughter's face. Tori jumped up from the chair and started searching through the few outfits she did have. She found something suitable, and struggled into it, her mind on fire. It seemed like everything had gone according to plan. Her mom believed she was sending her daughter out on a simple shopping trip, but what did she know?

She didn't know that Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of New York, was waiting just outside the compound with two highly trained shadowhunters for her. She didn't know they had a plan to break Tori out and modify the operatives memory, so, that when her mom called asking where she was, the operative would say Tori had demanded a proper meal at a good restaurant. She didn't know that Magnus was going to sneak into the compound with the two shadowhunters and break the rest of the children out. And she certainly didn't know it was all about to happen.

When the operative came, Tori was a little disappointed. It was just a run-of-the-mill witch who determined not to pay Tori one bit of attention. She gestured for Tori to come with her and watched her carefully as she collected her purse, which was empty. They left the room and passed down a number of halls that Tori didn't really bother to memorize. She had absolutely no intention of ever going down those hallways again.

As they were stomping down a set of stairs, the witch spoke, though she didn't look at Tori, she pointed to her pants pocket. "Your mom gave me a credit card for you to use, so when you find something, bring it to me so I can look it over."

"Yeah, alright," Tori said with a great amount of disinterest.

At the bottom of the stairs, the witch unlocked a door and directed Tori into a garage with a number of cars and vans in wait. She walked down a line of vehicles and paused before a small fuel efficient car. She gave it a once over and pulled the key out of her pocket.

"We're taking this?" Tori said loudly. "Who owns this…_thing_? I think my car at home could eat it and spit it out."

"If you want to go anywhere," the witch said, grinding her teeth. "It'll be in this."

"I'll look like a loser," Tori sighed dramatically. "But I suppose it'll have to do. Just don't use my mom's card to fill up your gas tank."

The witch narrowed her eyes and jerked her door open with a scowl. Tori climbed in slowly, hoping she was on time to meet Magnus. As the car started with a dull hum, Tori tried to suppress any tension in her body. She didn't know if the witch could tell, and what the witch would do if she noticed. Very carefully, Tori leaned back and pressed her hands together. She could feel the power coursing through them.

The care cruised out of the garage and into the sunlight. Tori squinted as the light touched her eyes. It had been such a long time since she'd been outside the compound, it made her skin tingle and her eyes water. She felt her blood pound as she watched the world unfurl around her, and she looked sideways at the witch. She was still focusing on the road.

Once her eyes had adjusted, Tori saw the approaching fence and prepared to move. She saw the bend in the road, just beyond the fence where her three saviors were waiting, and then studiously looked anywhere but at it.

"So, where are we going?" Tori asked with a bright smile. She had decided it was best to keep her captor busy with small talk. "I want to go to a mall. One with a shoe store and clothing stores. Maybe even a computer place. And I'll need time to look around too, just keep that in mind."

"You're a bit bossy for a teenager, you know that? I don't care who your mom is," the witch answered curtly. "You'll go where I'm taking you."

"Not if my mom pays for it," shot back Tori, losing her smile. "This is a day for me because of all the children, I'm behaving the best. So if I want to go to a mall, I think I've earned it!"

"You're the most obnoxious-"

"Watch the road!" Tori shouted, pointing to the fence and the sharp bend. "I want to live today, thanks!"

The witch swore and very deliberately slowed the car. She dug in her purse and removed a keycard, flashing it at a small screen by the door. Tori watched exactly where she put it and leaned back in her seat and rolled down her window.

"What do you think you're doing?" the witch demanded, staring at the window.

"It's been a while since I've had fresh air," was all Tori said. "That turn is coming up pretty fast. Damn, where did you learn to drive?"

In response, the witch jerked the wheel so hard Tori fell into her door, but that didn't get the angry retort the witch had been hoping for. As the car rounded the bend, a shot of blue light flashed through the car. Tori saw the inside of the car illuminated, the witch's face, the picture of shock, and felt the car suddenly shudder. The witch had slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious, and the car was heading for a ditch.

"Dammit!" Tori cried, and lunged for the wheel. She caught it, and spun it the other way, swerving into the opposite lane. "You idiot, Magnus!" she called.

But it didn't matter. In the course of twenty seconds, Tori had grabbed the witch's purse, chucked it out the window with a cry of, "check the front pocket", and was then steering the car safely onto the curb to resituate the witch. Tori checked to make sure she was beyond the bend before getting out of the car and dragging the witch into the trunk.

Tori had just had time to realize she was free, when her mind jumped into hyper active survival. She dropped to the ground, scrabbling until she found a sharp stone. With a nervous whine, Tori placed the pointed side to the inside of her arm and sliced her skin open. As tears started to course down her cheeks, Tori dug in her arm until she found the tracking chip and pulled it out.

"Suck it, mom," Tori said through gritted teeth, and tossed the chip in the car.

Tori knew she didn't have much time before someone noticed that her chip wasn't moving in the direction of the mall, but she had to turn back just once. She and Magnus had agreed that she would drive to the mall and use her mom's credit card to buy supplies for the others, so it appeared that she was still under the watchful eyes of the witch. She would return after four hours, but, if all went according to plan Magnus would meet her outside the compound with all the others. Together, they would escape in the car with the credit card her mom had so kindly given her.

But, first, Tori had to resolve her curiosity.

Like a small rabbit, Tori poked her head around the bend once, pulled back, poked her face out again, and drew back again. On the third time, she stayed pressed against a tree, hidden in the shadows of the forest, her dark eyes scanning the front of the compound. She saw nothing amiss, not a single thing wrong, not even an alarm.

"Good on you," Tori murmured, and then turned back and slid into the car. She checked the clock, which read four in the evening. At eight she would be sitting right here, hopefully with Magnus, the shadowhunters, Chloe, Derek, Simon, Rae, Jace, and Clary with her. Tori turned the key and slammed her foot on the gas, shooting out toward freedom and leaving nothing but a cloud of dust behind her.

Magnus, who was leaning against the front of the compound building, caught the trail of dust and grinned. He turned in the direction of Isabelle, Alec and Max, all of whom were invisible, and checked that even with his second sight he couldn't see them. They were nothing but air. He then looked down to where he knew his hands should be, and saw nothing.

"Well, good, we're all very much invisible," Magnus whispered. "And I've got that witch's entrance card, so we should be able to get around easily enough. Just don't wander off. We have no idea where we're going, or what else could be guarding this place, so stick together."

"You hear that Max?" Isabelle said firmly. "You stay with me and don't make a sound."

"I won't!" Max yapped.

"Max!" Isabelle hissed.

"Both of you," Alec snarled. "Isabelle, keep your temper, Max, you can't be loud. Even if you see Jace, don't say a thing. It could give us away."

"But we're getting Jace," Isabelle said helpfully, giving Max's hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry."

"I'll be quiet," Max murmured, and looked up sourly at the building.

"Right then." Magnus snapped his fingers and the key card popped into mid air. Very quickly, he scanned it by the door, and then waved his hand over it. The card vanished. "Now, we're going to have to be rather quiet in here, so keep it together."

The four of them stood before the open doors, thinking they looked like nothing so much as an open mouth. The darkness of the building looked so complete compared to the world outside that they paused on the threshold. But the fear that held them all suddenly broke when they reminded themselves that their friends, their family, were trapped in there. If they were afraid, how were the other children dealing with it?

The moment passed and the four passed through the doors, utter silence descending on them.

At first, they saw nothing but tiled floors and grey walls, and it seemed like the entire place was devoid of life. Then, they turned a corner and were met with a pair of locked double doors. None of them spoke, but Magnus drew the key card out of air and flashed it past the scanner. The door lock clicked and the doors slid open, connecting the bare hall to a stairwell.

"Onward and upward," Magnus sniggered, before falling back into silence and heading up.

The stairs took them up two floors of grey walls and flickering lights before they met another person. Isabelle felt a surge of hate at the sight of young woman dressed in a white coat. She looked normal, completely human, but Isabelle still hated the sight of her. The woman didn't even see them, didn't even have enough sense to know something was amiss. She just walked right past them, flicking through a file of notes.

After meeting the woman, they found themselves on a landing that had single door. Alec tested the handle, and it gave way under his grasp, so they entered the first level. They didn't know what to expect, but the first level wasn't it. For almost twenty minutes, they walked in a circle past small offices where human men and women were typing away on computers. It was nothing but an office building.

Alec sighed and wondered how long it could take for them to find Jace and Clary in this mess. When he spotted the door, he made a small impatient noise and lunged for it. He had just laid his hand on it when Magnus hissed and dragged him back.

"Someone's watching!" he snarled. "Wait!"

"We can't wait," Alec groaned. "We need to find Jace and Clary. How much time do we have?"

"Enough," answered Magnus curtly, and then waited until the man walking by them passed around a corner. "Now go."

They all seemed to sense the added tension of lost time, and the next set of stairs was gone in seconds. On the second landing, Max and Isabelle jerked the door open and they found themselves in a very different setting. Isabelle had to clamp a hand over Max's mouth to stop him shouting.

There were men and woman, obviously not human, who were all wearing doctor's coats and hurrying about in a large laboratory. The walls were sterile white, and covered in an assortment of different things. One wall was stacked with books. One housed all sorts of medical tools that made the shadowhunters shiver. The worst wall by far had a line of cages with locks. Though none of the cages was filled, it reminded Max of his nightmares. He shuddered and clung to Isabelle.

Magnus checked first that they were all still invisible, and then allowed them to pass into the laboratory. It was nerve-racking to pass so close to people who could very quickly do them harm and not want to draw a weapon. Isabelle and Alec both laid they hands on daggers, and tried to avoid the doctors as much as they could.

On a few of the tables, were open books, and men and women were muttering to each other over them. They heard the occasional name like Chloe or Rae or Simon, and knew they had to be close to the children. But they couldn't move quickly. Magnus was almost positive that if they ran through the laboratory, at the very least, the draft of air would alert the doctors to their presence. Their slow pace, though, chafed at the shadowhunters, who felt they were drawing their search for Clary and Jace to a close.

They reached the door on the opposite wall and waited, watching the doctors move here and there. Finally, someone opened the door and they rushed through into another blank hall. The lighting here was worse, flickering and frail, and it made them worry. This wasn't a good place to be.

"Do you think-?" Isabelle began, but Magnus pinched her arm.

"Don't speak!" he hissed. "Something is watching this place."

Isabelle swallowed her angry yelp and looked around, gripping her knife even more. She didn't really sense any demonic presence, but she wasn't going to doubt Magnus. Very carefully, Isabelle drew Max against her and then swung him up into her arms. They continued on, past locked doors and blank walls, and began to worry they had chosen the wrong floor again.

Just as Alec was about to suggest risking a trip back through the lab, Max made an excited squeak. "There! Look at those stairs. It says nursery above them!"

A sliver of excitement unfurled in Alec, and they rushed toward the stairwell. It had a key card scanner, which was blinking away steadily. As they neared it, it occurred to Magnus that the card they had might not have the clearance to open this door. He drew the card out of air, and, pressing his lips together worriedly, pressed it against the scanner. For just a moment, the scanner continued to flicker, then it turned green and the doors creaked open.

There was a rush of joy that flooded through all of them as they ran up the stairs. It was the end of their search. The end of waiting. The end of loneliness. Up at the top of the steps, they reached a small plateau and a window that gave a view into a very strange room. Max pressed his nose against the window and gaped, while Isabelle blinked repeatedly.

"I didn't think it really _was _a nursery," Alec murmured softly.


	13. Infiltration

Infiltration

"This seems very familiar," Clary murmured, smiling sadly from her place on the bed. "It almost makes me wish we had just done it the first time. Almost," she added quickly.

Jace, who was leaning against the door, sighed and nervously felt the edge of his shirt. "Clary, we can still put it off. We have one more day. If you're not comfortable-"

"Stop it," Clary said shortly. "I'm tired of being uncomfortable. If this is where it had to be, then this is where we'll do it. I'm just so tired of being uncomfortable." _And tired of being scared_, she added to herself.

Clary sat back on the bed, hugging herself, and then threw off her sweater. She didn't notice Jace staring at her, watching her every move with wide, concerned eyes. He was looking at her arms and legs, sticking out of her loose shirt and pants, and thought how small and delicate she was. He wanted to kiss her, wanted to bury his face in her very messy mane of red hair, and hold her and not let go. Jace knew that he loved her, knew that she was the most important thing in his world, and would rather have died than hurt her.

"I never wanted this," he said hoarsely. "I swear, Clary, I never wanted any of this."

She looked at him keenly for a moment. "I know that, Jace; and knowing will be enough."

Jace was still hanging against the wall, looking nervous and even a little sick. He didn't want to join Clary, but knew there was no way around it. Clary had that stubborn, determined look in her eyes. She wasn't going to let this get the better of her, she wasn't going to cry and beg for everything to be different. She was going to do it, because Clary was just that type of person.

"I'll make it up to you one day," Jace said softly. "One day, this will all be over and we'll go away somewhere. Alone. And we'll never think about this again."

Clary smiled wryly. "I think there might be certain parts of this I'll want to think about."

The tension in Jace seemed to leak out of him at Clary's joke. He smiled weakly and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, yeah, I can see how some of this will stick with you. It's me, after all."

Clary drew her legs up onto the bed and sat back against the pillows. "Come here, Jace," she said tiredly.

For a second, indecision flickered across Jace's eyes as rebellion passed over his thoughts. He considered saying no and banging on the door to let them out, but where was that going to get them? He knew that if he refused to go through with it, Clary would be the one to be punished. She was the one they needed to study, not him. And hadn't he, Jace, sworn to protect Clary? So wasn't this the lesser of two evils?

"If you're sure," was all he said.

Jace crossed the room carefully and settled himself on the bed beside Clary. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, to look at her eyes that he knew would be wide with apprehension and fear and maybe a bit of excitement. No, he kept his gaze down on his feet. Without thinking, he undid the buttons on his shirt and pulled it off.

Clary was watching Jace with a guarded look, but when Jace took his shirt off she looked away quickly. Maybe Jace wanted privacy? She didn't want to stare and make _him_ uncomfortable too. Her eyes went anywhere but to Jace, to the desk with the glasses on them, to the bathroom with its weak light, to the blanket on the bed with the frilly edges. And she jumped a little when, while staring at the blanket, she felt Jace's hand stroke her cheek.

"Nervous?" he asked, lifting her chin so her eyes were level with his.

Slowly, Clary ran her eyes over Jace's bare chest. It was lean and well muscled with a dusting of white scars, testament to his life as a soldier. She knew how much he regretted not being able to hold a weapon anymore. How hard was it for him to sit here, trapped in this building, waiting for someone to come rescue him? He had spent so long defending himself, taking care of himself, being an adult, that to suddenly be dependent on another person must be painful.

"No," Clary lied easily. "No, I think I might be ready for something like this."

Jace's smile quirked up just a little. "Something like this, huh? Well, I don't know what something like this is, but I can certainly try to make the best of this." He tilted his head a little, flicking his gaze over Clary. His eyes, she noted, were hazy gold, like honey. "Come here, Clary."

Clary inched across the bed until she was sitting before Jace. She looked up into his eyes and saw herself reflected there. "Wh-what do you want me to do?"

He smiled, slow and leisurely. "I want you to come sit here," he placed his hands on his legs, which we were stretched out in front of him, "and let me kiss you."

Clary blanched, but she wriggled up onto his lap. She felt foolish for a moment, trying to act like a grown woman who knew something about men, but then Jace shifted his legs and Clary fell forward against his chest. She meant to say sorry, but Jace wrapped both his arms about her firmly, and then pressed his lips to hers in a very demanding kiss. The fear that she was acting like a little girl instead of a woman was pushed away by Jace's hands on her hips and his mouth on hers.

_Then stop sitting here like a lump,_ Clary told herself firmly. _Give him something to go with. _Clary thought for a minute about all the women she knew, and decided Isabelle was probably the most likely to be in this situation. _Alright, be Isabelle. Be Isabelle._

Clary ran her hands over Jace's chest and around his shoulders. She groped as his muscles, clinging to him fiercely, and began tracing a line of kisses down his throat. Jace arched his back, offering Clary the rest of neck and shoulders. She paused a moment in her kissing, and then bit gently on his skin.

"Clary," Jace said roughly, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "Where have you been all my life?"

Clary giggled sweetly. "Ten miles away, actually," she said, looking up at his eyes.

Jace pulled put just a little space between them, and fingered the edge of her shirt. He glanced up at her, eyebrow raised. "Is this okay?"

Clary nodded mutely, and Jace tugged her shirt up, resting his palms on her bare hips, then her ribs, then up, up higher until he'd pulled the shirt over her head and was staring down at her, looking for all the world like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. His eyes were wide, his mouth open just slightly, his breathing coming slowly. Tenderly, he placed his hands on her shoulders, feeling the strap of her bra.

"I should have worn a more exciting bra, but given my options…" Clary said, feeling that ridiculous childishness surging up again.

"I could care less," Jace murmured, bending his head to her shoulder. Clary gasped when she felt his teeth nibbling her shoulder. He smiled up devilishly. "You could tell me stop, and I swear I would. I would never force _anything _from you." He paused and blinked once. "Should I stop?"

Clary swallowed hopelessly and felt her fingers digging into Jace's back. Her voice low to even her own ears, Clary said, "Don't stop."

Jace bowed his head a little and very gently pushed Clary back, until she was lying on the bed. Clary knew what was coming, her heart pounded with excitement and fear, she closed her eyes a minute, and when she opened them, Jace was above her. He looked down at her with wide, golden eyes, smiled kindly, and placed his hands on the belt loops of her pants.

* * *

><p>Derek heard the door open before he saw it, and reacted just as he always did. His hand shot out, taking a firm hold on Chloe and dragging her behind him. Simon always reacted a moment after Derek did, and when he saw Derek hauling Chloe off, he very quickly got to his feet and grabbed Rae. Derek had managed to tuck Chloe behind a towering pile of plushies when he saw the door open. He waited, tense and ready to spring.<p>

"It can't be Clary and Jace," she said softly.

"It's not," Derek answered, and stared. "It's…nothing?"

Simon pushed forward to stand next to his brother. "What do you mean it's nothing? Those doors are key coded, it has to be _someone_."

"There's no one there!" Derek hissed. "Look, there's nothing there. I saw the door open, and there was the light bulb on, but no one came in. It's empty."

Simon itched his arms anxiously and glanced around. "I could try to scout them out?"

"No," Derek said quickly. "It might be one of the warlocks or witches, and if you try to use magic they might attack you and drug you. No, just wait, they have to show themselves."

They waited a few minutes, feeling tense and helpless while the closed door taunted them. When it seemed like it might have been just a trick of Derek's imagination, there was a grunt, a yip, and then a pile of pillows tumbled over. They heard someone fall and hit the floor, where an invisible something made an indent in the spongy floor.

Derek snarled and Simon stared in open shock. Chloe came up to Derek's side and watched the invisible spectacle. "What's going on, Derek? Who's doing this?"

"I don't know," Derek said quietly, and then he cupped his mouth and called, "Who's there?"

For a moment, nothing came forth, then a very lofty voice answered. "Who do you think, you brain dead werewolf?"

Derek growled, showing his fangs. "Davidoff?"

"You're kidding, right? Do I sound like that half-demon freak?"

"What the hell-" Simon started, but he was cut off by the voice.

"Just wait a minute while I mess with the cameras. We haven't got that much time now."

Magnus, who had been speaking, cast a searching look around the room and found the four cameras that should have given a clear view into the room. He very carefully nudged their vision, so that they gave a view of the room, but the screen wasn't in proper focus. That's all they needed, they'd only be there a few minutes. Hopefully.

"Alright, now that _that's_ taken care of," Magnus huffed, and he waved his hands. "May I introduce myself?"

Derek choked back on whatever he was about to say and Simon's mouth dropped. Chloe and Rae both fought the insane urge to giggle. A man had just materialized out of air, and very strange man he was. He was tall and thin, very thin, with spiked black hair and green cat eyes. His outfit was an edgy, sparkly, ensemble that would have made Tori blanch. He was smirking.

"Who are you?" Rae managed to ask over her surprise.

"Who do you think?" he snapped back and glanced over his shoulder. The four children were even more stunned when three more people appeared. A tall, handsome young man with black hair, icy blue eyes, and a frown; a beautiful, willowy thin girl with a provocative stare; and a young boy in her arms with glasses and big inquisitive eyes. "We're the people here to rescue you."

"Your definition of people is a lot different from mine," Rae said loudly.

The pretty girl narrowed her eyes. "What's your definition of ass kicking?" Rae pressed her lips together, but didn't give an answer. "Listen, I'm sure Jace told you about us. We're the Lightwoods, his _family_, and Magnus, he's a warlock."

Derek blinked and it came back in a rush. "You're the Lightwoods? It's about time you got around to finding us."

"Watch it werewolf," Alec said warningly. "We've been tracking you since Jace was taken."

"But, how did you even get here-" Simon began, but Magnus cut him off sharply.

"We don't have _time_ for this! The whole story is thrilling, but we need to go."

"Okay, okay," Chloe said loudly, taking a firm grip of Derek's arm. "But who are you?"

Magnus pushed Alec aside. "I'm Magnus Bane, high warlock, this is Alec Lightwood, his sister, Isabelle, and his younger brother, Max. And we're in something of a hurry, so can you tell us why Jace and Clary haven't shown their faces?"

"Where's Jace!" yelped Max, eyes darting about as he struggled in Isabelle's arms. "Jace!"

"You've missed them," Simon said with a terrible misery setting over him. "The doctors took them about two hours ago to go work on…the experiment."

"What!" Isabelle cried. "Where did they taken them? I swear to the Angel, I'm going to find those doctors and beat their heads against a-"

"Isabelle, shhh," Magnus ordered. "We don't have that much time. We'll just gonna have to find them. Let's just get a move on, okay?" Magnus looked pointedly at the other children. "Well, don't just stand there."

"What?" Derek said simply

"You're coming, aren't you? Or do you like it here?" Magnus made a sweeping gesture of the room. "I know werewolves are peculiar about their living arrangements, but this is a little weird for even their tastes."

"You're here for us, too?" Chloe asked.

"Yes," Isabelle said, looking around at the other children. Her eyes landed on Simon, who was watching her carefully. "All of you. Did you think we would just come and take our family?"

"Shadowhunters aren't known for their generosity toward supernaturals, though, are they?" pointed out Chloe.

Isabelle's eyes landed on Chloe, the necromancer, and she wondered vaguely what it would be like to have that power. To call back the dead, to summon her lost family and friends. "Well, we're here now, and we're here for all you."

"Now," said Alec, trying to gain some control over the situation. "Where are they keeping Jace and Clary?"

The four children exchanged a quick look with each other. "It's hard to remember, you know, with all the halls looking the same," admitted Chloe softly. "I know they always took us to the right when we got down the stairs."

"To the right," said Alec, sounding just a little relieved.

"And we went up a flight of stairs," offered Simon.

"To the right and up some stairs isn't going to get us anywhere!" Isabelle sighed impatiently. "We need to move fast."

"Well, we've got a werewolf," pointed out Magnus with an eye roll. "Why doesn't he just sniff them out?"

For a minute, they all were quiet, thinking how right Magnus was, and then Max struggled out of Isabelle's arms. "You can lead us to them, right? You know what Jace and Clary smell like."

Derek gave a kid a hard stare before answering. "Yeah, I could find them. How much time do we have?"

"We've got a ride coming in probably two hours. We have to be outside, on the road, on the other side of the gate by then," Magnus said, thinking quickly. "And I can't make all of you invisible."

"Bet I can," said Simon loudly. "There's got to be a reason I can make that stupid fog, maybe it's a cover of some sort."

Magnus gave Simon a once over, wondering if the kid was as talented as he claimed, and then shrugged his shoulders delicately. "Then let's move."

They left the nursery as quietly as they could, Magnus leaving last to fix the cameras. Once in the hall, Isabelle, Alec, and Max marked themselves again, Magnus performed his invisibility spell, and Simon summoned up his fog. The fog seemed to have a mind of its own, and covered them all effectively, churning and contracting as they descended the stairs and turned to the right. As they began down the hall, Derek leading the way, they encountered a set of doctors, all pouring over a file of notes. The doctors glanced up, hearing something, but the fog seemed to have become invisible as need, and everyone within it, too.

Derek was moving as quickly as he could, but the going was slow. The hall didn't allow for much free movement, as the group was so large. Also, the fog didn't make anyone soundless either, so four pairs of feet pattering about really were causing a problem. But, perhaps the biggest difficulty was that the compound seemed to be washed almost daily with a disinfectant that left the place with an almost overpowering smell of hospitals.

Jace and Clary had a distinct scent, and though Derek knew it well after spending so much time with them, he walked slowly, making sure he never lost track of it. Behind him, he could almost sense the tension building in the shadowhunters, and the terror of being caught by the other children. Whenever they passed doctors or scientists, an invisible wave of panic would hit the children so powerful that Derek could only smell fear.

The Lightwoods were anxiously watching Derek and thinking of Jace and Clary. Now this was the end of their search, and it seemed it was just in time, too. It just seemed like if they could reach Jace and Clary today, they could go home, to the Institute, and their family would be there, and Valentine wouldn't exist. Life could just go back to the way things were before.

Suddenly, Derek jerked his head and took off at the sprint. Simon cast his fog as far after him as he could, trying to cover Derek's body, but he had to run to keep up. They shot down one hall, stopping at the end, where a door indicated a stairwell to the basement. Derek slammed against it and the door sprung without any protest, and then they were pounding down stairs. In the stairwell, with no else around, they made as much noise as possible, and it echoed all around.

It was at least four levels down, but it seemed to take only seconds, and then they were facing a locked door. Derek stared at it and turned to Magnus. "They're in there. But we need a key to get through the door."

"Fancy that," Magnus said, waving his hand and producing a key card, "I've got one."

When the door clicked open, the Lightwoods rushed past the others. There was just one hall with four doors on either side. Since they were locked from the outside with nothing but a deadbolt, Isabelle, Alec and Max started throwing open doors. Each one they met was an empty room, though the children seemed to flinch back from them, remembering their nights in there.

Alec reached the last door on the left first and swung it open with all his energy. And then fell back stuttering. Isabelle and Max hurried over, and Isabelle smirked and started to giggle. Max was just staring with a very confused expression on his face. The other children knew what they would see, so they hung back, giving them privacy. But it was Magnus who seem to find the right phrase, and he said it, very loudly and snidely.

"Nice view."

Jace jerked back from Clary, which was good, because Max had sprinted forward crying Jace's name. His face had just enough time to register the shock of seeing his family and friends staring at him before Max hit him in stomach and he tumbled off the bed.

"Jace," Max said. "We found you, Jace!"

Jace was staring at Max in wonder. "You're here?"

Isabelle giggled loudly. "Looking good, Clary."

Clary was sitting on the bed in a mess of blankets. She had on her underwear and bra and nothing else. Her hair was a mane of wild red around her face, and her cheeks were getting brighter by the second. "You're a sight for sore eyes," she said, and she meant it.

Jace sat up, situating Max on his lap. He still had his pants on, and it made Clary feel immediately like she was way too naked. "How did you- When did you- Are you-"

"I don't believe it," Magnus said with a wicked smile. "Jace Morgenstern, at a loss for words. This is a shocker."

Jace very carefully stood up, placing Max down at his feet. "Not Morgenstern anymore."

Magnus's eyes moved to Clary, who was trying to find her clothes. "One can only hope in a situation like this."

"Ha ha ha," Jace said with a frown. "I take it you've come to rescue us?"

"You're damn right we are, and we haven't got that much time left," Isabelle said. "So the sooner you two finish up the sooner we leave."

Jace flushed at that. "We didn't-"

"Come on, Jace," Clary said, and she shimmied into her pants. As she pulled her shirt over her head, she said, "You've got a really good plan to get us out of here, right?"

"Yeah," said Isabelle, as if she were offended. "You don't think we'd just break in here, weapons out, kicking down doors, do you? A situation like this takes planning, takes mind power, takes finesse."

At that moment, an alarm sounded all around them. A red light was flashing in the hall outside and voices were suddenly heard shouting all around them. Jace picked up Max, and gave Isabelle a crooked smile. "Finesse, huh?"


	14. Flight

Flight

Luke's truck rumbled down the road, away from the hospital, and toward what he knew not. Beside him, the young man who claimed to be Jocelyn's son was holding a sharp knife, balancing it over Luke's thigh. He smiled pleasantly as Luke looked sideways at him and placed it against the inner thigh, the femoral artery. Luke forced himself to remain calm when the blade touched his leg; it wouldn't help to panic now.

"Where are we going?" Luke asked evenly. "I need directions."

"We're going to see my father," Jonathan answered. "You need to speak to Valentine."

"I don't have anything to say to him, though," Luke said shrewdly. "I believe Valentine knows where I stand. What can he possibly have to say to me?"

Jonathan smiled slowly. "I believe it has to do with my sister," he said, watching the play of emotions on Luke's face. "You know, Clary, the little redhead? I'm sure you've seen her."

"Valentine wants to know where his children are, I suppose? Him and everyone else-"

Again, Jonathan seemed to flinch in disgust. "No, he wants to know where _Clary _is. He doesn't care about Jace. Jace isn't his son."

Luke turned to give him a very cold look. "You might not like your brother, but he's your family."

"He's not my brother," said Jonathan in a very low voice. "He's no Morgenstern."

Luke choked on his next reply. _Not a Morgenstern? Jace wasn't Valentine's son? That's not possible…he remembered being raised by Valentine. He called him Father. _"I'm sorry, but that's not possible, Jonathan. Jace remembers being raised by him, remembers the manor house. Valentine called him son."

"You think so?" Jonathan snarled, and then leaned in closer. "You wait, you wait till you speak to my father, he'll tell you the truth. Jace is _not_ my brother."

Luke had rarely ever heard so much hate in someone's voice. "Where am I going?"

Jonathan gave Luke directions and they drove the rest of the way in silence. Luke didn't like the sounds of Jonathan's voice, the way he spoke of Jace, and the fact that he was driving to meet Valentine. They certainly weren't on good speaking terms. The traffic wasn't slow enough to make any impression on the drive, and they were very soon pulling away from the city and into a section of abandoned warehouses. Luke tried to keep track of the path they followed, but he soon found he couldn't, and worse, they were going deeper into the buildings.

"Stop," ordered Jonathan, pressing the blade down harder against Luke's leg. "We're here."

Luke idled the car to stop outside a particularly trashy warehouse. "I thought Valentine had more class," he said, as he removed the keys. "But I suppose being banished from Idris doesn't leave you with many options."

"Get out," growled Jonathan, and he snatched the keys from Luke's hand.

When Luke got out of the car, he considered, for a just a minute, turning wolf and running for it. But Jonathan moved faster than Luke thought possible, and he gave him a firm shove toward the door. Luke stumbled, but straightened his back and pushed them open

Inside, the place seemed as desolate as it did outside, except for the light at the top of the staircase, behind a door marked Manager. Luke saw a shadow move in the light, but pass away before he could make eye contact with its owner. It didn't matter, Luke knew it was Valentine.

"Up you go," Jonathan said with a very pleased smile. "My father is waiting."

Luke didn't reply, but just walked toward the door and up the stairs. They creaked under his feet, and he wondered if they might break under the right amount pressure. But then he was standing before the door, and the thought was pushed from his mind. He had a strange urge to knock on the door, but then shook his head and opened it, a small smile still on his face.

Valentine was sitting at his desk, pouring over a book before him. When Luke came in, he glanced up, saw the smile on his face, and frowned. "Lucian. I'm glad you could make time in your busy day to come see me. I hear the alpha werewolf has many duties, some including my wife."

Luke pressed his smile down. "Someone has to take care of Jocelyn…and your children."

The sound of his wife's name in Luke's mouth seemed to annoy Valentine. "I _was _taking care of my wife until you showed up. In fact, I was taking care of my son as well, when you broke in and ruined that."

Luke showed his fangs. "You never _took care_ of Jace. The kindest thing you ever did for him was fake your own death and send him to the Lightwoods. Though, I suppose now, things have changed. You're looking for Jace and Clary?"

Valentine's face remained unmoved, except for a muscle in his jaw. "They are mine, and I do not like it when someone steals from me."

Luke took his time wandering over and seating himself in a chair before Valentine. He looked Valentine straight in the eye, a sad smile on his face. "Have you come to love your children, Valentine?"

Valentine laughed in return. "I have a professional interest in their future, nothing more."

"Which raises another question," Luke said, as if Valentine hadn't spoken. "Jonathan, your son, tells me Jace isn't his brother. Curious?"

This seemed to disturb Valentine, because he frowned slightly and closed his mouth. "Now why would Jonathan say something like that?"

"I can't imagine why, unless it's true. He seemed very adamant," added Luke.

"Jace's birth is of no consequence-"

"Ah, so he's Jace now, not 'my son'. Why the change, Valentine?" Luke leaned forward, trying to keep his own curiosity out of his voice. "Is Jace your son?"

"I raised him," Valentine said firmly. "I taught him everything I knew. He is my son."

Luke could see very clearly through Valentine's words. "You raised him, but is he your son?" When Valentine continued to stare at him, Luke coughed. "If you want to talk with me, Valentine, you're going to have to tell me the truth. Who is Jace?"

Valentine narrowed his eyes. "What is your interest in my son?"

"I want to know who he is," Luke said simply.

The loud snap that emitted from Valentine's knuckles when he cracked them echoed around the room. "Herondale."

Luke's eyes widened noticeably at the name. He thought back to Jace, the way he looked, and now that he knew, it was easy to see the family resemblance. His eyes, so much like his mother's, his face, like his father's. "Celine was pregnant, eight months, wasn't she?"

Valentine nodded simply. "She killed herself; I saved the baby before she could kill him too."

"And lied to Jace for seventeen years," Luke growled. "You're a monster, Valentine."

"I saved his life," he shrugged. "The boy owes me enough for that. Now, that I've answered your questions, will you listen to mine?"

Luke wanted to stand and leave, his hatred for Valentine was so great, but that wasn't going to help him find Clary any more quickly. "I take it you too are looking for Clary and Jace?"

"You are a Downworlder, and an influential one at that. I assumed you might have heard word of their disappearance." Valentine watched Luke's face carefully. "You know, I might trade you information of my children in exchange for your life. For Jocelyn, too."

"So if I have no knowledge of your children you're going to kill me?" Luke grinned. "That's hardly a fair trade."

"I'm not going to kill you now, Lucian. No, I speak of the future, when I have conquered the Clave, and have sent them out to rid the world of your kind. When that time comes, I will spare your life."

"It seems that no matter what _professional _interest you have in Clary and Jace, you obviously want them very badly." Luke raised an eyebrow. "I regret to inform you that I have no information about them. I had hoped you might know where they had gone to, actually."

Valentine placed both his hands down before him. "Don't lie to me, Lucian. You have the ear of all the Downworlders. Where has Magnus Bane gone?"

"Magnus Bane?" Luke looked up. "What does he have to do with this?" When Valentine didn't elaborate, Luke stared at him. "The Lightwoods. They've run off with him, and you're trying to find them, because they might lead you to Clary and Jace." Luke started to laugh. "Good luck, Valentine, you're going to need it. Magnus is a very _old _warlock. If you think you can track him down just because you've got connections, you've got another thing coming. You might as well give up that cause, Valentine."

Valentine's eyes darkened and his frown deepened. "Careful, Luke."

"It's the truth." He blinked and then looked over his shoulder. "I suppose you've sent the boy after him, haven't you? And he failed. So you assumed I knew where he was." Luke shook his head like he did when Clary had been a child and done something silly. "Who is he, by the way? Is He really Jocelyn's boy?"

"He is my son," Valentine growled.

"He doesn't seem to like Jace much," mused Luke. "I'd be careful if you put hose two together. He might try and hurt the boy…not that you'd care."

"Lucian, I did not invite you here to lecture me about my children. I want to know where my children have been taken to. If you don't know, you may leave."

Luke stood up and kicked the chair back. "You've spent so much time, Valentine, searching through the people of New York who might know where the children were taken, but I think we both know this is your fault. I don't know what you did, Valentine, and I don't know who you angered, but whoever took Clary and Jace took them because of you."

Valentine wanted to stand and lunge at the werewolf, but his words seemed to wake something in his mind. _Who I angered?_ he thought, a smile spreading across his face. _Not quite angered, but frustrated. Yes, there was certainly someone._

Valentine stood and was out the door of his office in a moment. He watched Luke leave, Jonathan snarling, but called his son sharply. Jonathan came slowly, wanting to kill the werewolf who left his father so disrespectfully. But when he joined his father, Valentine was grinning.

"I know who took Jace and Clary. I know where they are." Valentine hurried down the stairs, Jonathan following, stuttering his questions. "They're at the Edison Group compound."

* * *

><p>Max was clinging rather tightly to Jace's neck as he carried him quickly up the stairs to the main floor. All around, lights were flashing and sirens were going off, but that didn't really matter to Jace; all he knew was that he was free. He jumped two steps, just to prove that he could, and then kept running. Ahead of him, he watched Isabelle's long hair swing back and forth, and thought of all the times he'd seen it before. He'd never been more happy in his life to watch it than now.<p>

"The exit is on this level!" shouted Magnus, not even caring that he was screaming loud enough for people to hear. He wasn't even invisible anymore, it didn't really matter now. "It's got to be."

"Please be right, Magnus," moaned Chloe, who was trying to run while clinging onto Derek's hand. He wouldn't let her go. "I'll give you anything I own if you're right."

"All you've got is the clothes on your back, and, sweetie, that's not my style." Magnus winked as he ran, and Chloe scowled. "Don't panic. I'm an excellent judge of direction."

"Liar," breathed Clary, who was watching Jace's back with sharp eyes. She wasn't going to lose him anytime soon. "You've lived in New York City for how long?"

"I've lived around this world for quite some time, though," he said with a crooked smile. "You, on the other hand, have not. So I suggest you keep your mouth shut and let me lead the way." Clary mad a face at Magnus, and then caught up to Jace as he ran ahead.

They had just topped the flight of stairs that should have dropped them on the ground floor, when the lights suddenly went out. In fact, everything went out. The siren ceased to wail, the voices stopped screaming, and the darkness that enveloped them was complete. They all started feeling around desperately, trying to reach for one and other, and they found they couldn't. Their voices didn't pass from their mouths, their hands couldn't touch, and their eyes couldn't see. Though they knew they were right beside their friends and family, they were isolated, completely alone.

Then, very suddenly, a red light blossomed before their eyes. It was bright red, so red it turned white, and they had to look away. When the whiteness had faded, they turned back and saw before them Dr. Davidoff. He was watching them all with a look of morbid curiosity. He had been so sure that no one could escape him, he had promised to his superiors that no one could escape him. And yet, here were his children, quite clearly escaped from their cells, and very close to the doors.

He didn't understand how it was possible that they had escaped. He had been so sure that the security around them was strong. And then he saw the strange man standing before him. Not a day older than nineteen, glittery clothing, spiked hair, and strange eyes. And beside him, two more children, both teenagers, dressed in black, each with ebony hair and strong boned faces. No, he didn't recognize them. And the boy, the little boy in Jace's arms.

_Who are you people?_ Dr. Davidoff wondered, staring at them hard. _What are you doing here?_

Very deliberately, he cleared his throat, and then spoke calmly and softly. "Who are you?" he asked of the cat-eyed man. "What are you doing in our building?"

The man smiled. "Now I hardly think that's your biggest concern right now. You appear to have a mass breakout on your hands, and you might want to deal with that."

"I am dealing with it," said Davidoff, and his voice grew harder. "Now, who are you, young man?"

"Young man?" Magnus laughed, feeling his fingers growing warmer. "I'd be careful how your throw those words around. They might come back to burn you."

"I would know a thing or two about burning," replied Davidoff in the same low voice. "Whoever you are, you are stealing company property, and I simply cannot allow and injustice like that. Step aside and let me deal with the children."

"Go to hell!" snarled Isabelle, and stepped purposefully in front of Clary. "You're not coming anywhere near our family."

"Family?" Davidoff asked, eyebrows furrowed, then he smiled. "Ah, yes, you must be the Lightwoods. Enright mentioned you. I told her she was a fool for leaving that message on Jace's phone. I told her you would come for him. It seems I was right there." He eyed Isabelle closely, wondering if she might have any extra uses. "No, you're just his family."

"Yes," Alec said, stepping forward. "We are his family, and no one hurts our family without dealing with us."

"But I wasn't hurting!" Davidoff said at once, his eyes glowing manically. "No, I was _saving_, I was _protecting_. You have no idea the dangers these children-"

"I know," Isabelle cried. "I know the danger Jace and Clary have faced. So don't stand there pretending you're protecting them."

"No, no, no, my dear," said Davidoff, stepping forward and reaching for his powers. "I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say, the dangers these children _are_. They are monsters, little girl, monsters."

"We are not!" Chloe snapped. "We have powers you tampered with, but instead of trying to help us grow into them, you've locked us away. You try to make us suppress our powers. You're the real monster."

"Don't you dare, Chloe," breathed Davidoff, and he summoned his monster. "You know what you are, little girl. And so do I! I know what you all are!"

Davidoff threw up his hands and flames began dripping from them, forming an ugly ring of fire on the tile. From the circle on the ground came a black smoke, fumes that reached up for the ceiling, and in its center, was a pair of staring eyes. They creased in a smile.

"If you want to take these children with you, Lightwoods, you will have to get past me. And I assure you, I am no ordinary old man." Davidoff smirked and murmured something to the eyes in the cloud. "I will not let you take those children from me. They belong to us."

The thing in the cloud started to move, and a shape began to from. It was the vague shape of a woman, with hair likes snakes and eyes that burned. She was grinning, and her teeth were as sharp as daggers.

Magnus breathed in, and his fingers were glowing bright now. He raised his palm, but Alec stepped up and caught his shoulders. "Let us deal with this."

Isabelle had already stepped up and her whip was glowing fiercely in the dull red light of the demon. "You've got to be kidding," she said, smirking at Davidoff. "We're _shadowhunters_. We make a living from killing demons."

Davidoff considered this, but it was the demon that spoke. Her voice was strangely soft and comforting, as addictive as honey to bees. "But I am no ordinary, demon, little angel girl. I've been here forever, I will always be here. But you? Not you. You will fade away, wither like reeds. I will see to that, little girl."

Chloe was watching her closely, she knew who she was. That demon woman was the same one who had spoken to her, but not with death threats, with offerings, with some small form of comfort. She was watching the demon woman curiously. She knew, somehow, that the demon was right: Isabelle wasn't going to be able to stop her.

"No one's taking Clary and Jace away," Isabelle said firmly. "Especially you."

She smiled sweetly. "We will see, little girl."

The demon lunged forward and Isabelle slashed the whip through the air. The smoke around the demon thickened and the whip flared for a moment before going dark. When Isabelle snapped it back, the whip was completely black. She stared in horror at the whip, her most trusted weapon, and tried to make it come to life. It hung limply on the ground.

"Now, little angel girl, what have you got to say?" The demon came closer, reaching a hand out. "How will you fight me without a weapon? What will you do?"

Davidoff was smiling now, watching the girl who was staring at her whip helplessly. Slowly, he lifted his eyes to Jace, who was holding Max in his arms. Jace's eyes met Davidoff's and he shook his head helplessly. He wasn't going to let his sister be killed, not for him.

"Isabelle get back!" Jace ordered, grabbing her shoulder and dragging her back. Max screeched angrily as Jace struggled with his sister. "Get away from it."

"Yes, little soldier boy," said the demon, her eyes now on Jace. "Protect your friend, kill me. You can do it, not her, but you. Use those powers you've been given, those terrible and great powers." She didn't take her eyes off Jace, and Chloe began to inch forward. "But be careful, little soldier boy, with those powers; _you're_ in more danger of them than me. Do you use them, or do they use you?"

Jace swallowed loudly, and tried to find his voice. Magnus, a few steps ahead of him, was listing closely. This was what he was worried about. Max was furious.

"Jace will kill you!" he screamed.

The demon turned her gaze on him and Jace felt Max pressed back against his chest. "Oh, yes, he will. He had that power, it's in him right now, festering, eating away at his soul. Poison in his veins, that's what it is." She returned her attention to Jace. "Do you deny it?"

"I'm not a monster." Jace caught her eye.

"Then you deny what you are, little soldier boy. You were made to be a warrior, you were born to fight, and if you fight against the power in you, they will consume you. They will make you into the monsters you fight so bravely; it has already begun."

"Don't you dare," Alec said dangerously, stepping up. "Jace is a shadowhunter; he defends the people."

She ran her eyes over Alec, measuring him, but she had her focus on Jace. She tensed, ready to spring at Jace, but all she said was: "For now."

The demon dove through her smoke at Jace. He turned to protect Max from the blow because he knew the demon wouldn't kill him, but Max wasn't important. Magnus and Davidoff met each other's eyes and Magnus threw his hands up, bright blue fire exploding off his palms.

But it was Chloe who tossed her hands up and reached for her powers.

The demon sensed the surge of energy just a moment too late. She turned to Chloe in surprise, hanging midair between Davidoff and Jace, before her eyes widened in shock. Chloe felt energy stir in her belly, and then a strange lightness overtook her. The terror of the demon, the darkness on the edges of her vision, the pounding of blood in her veins was all gone. No one could touch her, that's what it was. She was free of the anger and terror and madness that had hung over her since she'd been taken back to Lyle House.

She had power over the demon, that much she knew. She was free of fear, and that's all the demon was. Chloe could feel its black energy, and it was directed at Jace, though the demon was desperately trying to turn it to Chloe. But the demon couldn't because Chloe was beyond it. And because she knew that, Chloe turned that ugly power around and it struck the demon with all its terrible force.

To everyone watching, it looked like a wild fire being suddenly put out. The flames around the demon flared desperately and then went out. The smoke began to billow thickly and the cloud expanded for just a second, then it was all sucked backward, through an invisible hole. The demon was gone.

Everyone turned to Chloe, especially the shadowhunters, and then spun about to face Davidoff. He was staring at Chloe with a hungry look in his eyes, but it was very quickly replaced by shock. Magnus's fire hit him squarely in the chest and he was thrown backward, crashing against the wall.

"Chloe…" Derek began, while Alec came up to her. "What was that?"

"There's no time," Magnus said sharply over his shoulder. "We have to go. Tori should be coming back soon."

Magnus walked off at a demanding pace, and though everyone wanted to ask Chloe questions, there just wasn't the time. As they all hurried to follow Magnus, Davidoff managed to make himself heard over the sound of their running, and he was furious

"You think you can just run off? Well, you don't know how wrong you are. You've all got monsters in you, and they're just waiting to get out. You can't run from them!" He drew a ragged breath. "One by one, you will all be consumed by your powers, become animals, unable to tell right from wrong. And when that day comes, and you've killed the people you love and destroyed the most important things around you, I will come for you. And you will beg me for death." Davidoff's eyes found Derek's. "And I will oblige you."

Magnus reached the door first and he turned once more to look at Davidoff. He knew there was truth in the man's words, and that's what worried him most. But there was freedom before them, so he turned and fled. They raced down the steps and into the light. Around them the sirens were sounding again, but that didn't matter now. Just ahead was the fence, and speeding toward it was Tori's car.

Magnus threw his hand up and the fence burst apart. It seemed that whatever had been holding the compound together was gone. The children ran through, screaming with joy, and as they raced over the threshold and reached the car, they started to laugh.


	15. Indecision

Indecision

"Tori?"

It seemed to be the only thing that anyone could say. All the children stared at her as she drove the car, mouths agape. Of all the people they had expected to see behind the wheel, they hadn't thought it would be Tori. She had vanished once from them, dragged off by her mother, and they had thought that's where she would stay. Discovering that she was a part of their rescue was mind blowing.

"Well who else were you expecting who can drive a car?" she shot back, looking at them all in the rearview mirror. "Anyway, did you think I was just going to leave you all?"

"Well, if we're going to be honest…" Jace began, but stopped after he caught the look on Magnus's face. "I guess this will be the first time I say I'm glad to see your face."

"I've still never been glad to see yours," Tori shot back while Clary punched Jace firmly in the ribs. "But I bet you here that a lot from people."

"Only ugly people," Jace replied under his breath, but he dropped the subject and turned to inspect Clary.

Chloe, who was sitting uncomfortably on Derek and Simon's shared laps, was getting a lot of stares directed her way. "Chloe," Derek practically growled. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Chloe asked, though she knew very well what Derek meant.

"What you did to that demon, Chloe? I mean, I know you're a necromancer, but still, how did you do it?

This seemed the draw the attention of most of the people cramped in the small car, and they turned to Chloe. Under their gaze, it was a lot harder to remain confused. They all seemed to expect some amazing answer, but she didn't have any to give.

"It's what I do, isn't it?" Chloe shrugged. "I'm a necromancer, aren't I? It should stand to reason that I could do that."

"But, that was demon!" Isabelle exclaimed. "It's wasn't dead."

"Maybe whatever the Edison Group did to me gave me power over demons too? It's basically the same thing, isn't it?"

Isabelle and Alec exchanged a look and then frowned. "Well, no, actually," said Alec. "And the fact that you can do it is almost as disturbing as what Jace can do in battle and what Clary can do with runes. It's just not normal for someone to have that power."

Chloe looked hurt, and a flush rose in her cheeks. "So I'm not normal, great, but that doesn't mean you have to rub it in. I just saved your lives."

For some reason, Chloe couldn't stop feeling like she was being alienated. Like everyone was just rubbing in the fact that she was different. She felt very misunderstood, like something strange that everyone had to stare at and question. When she looked around her, it became obvious that all the other genetically altered children felt the same. Derek looked like he was about to sprout fur just so it could stand on end. Simon was ringing his hands together nervously. Tori was squeezing the steering wheel very tightly. But it Jace and Clary who seemed to be the most affected. They were both staring hard at the Lightwoods, trying to understand how their friends could say something so blunt and mean about them. Chloe felt almost as bad for them as she did for herself.

"We're not saying there's anything wrong with you," Isabelle said at once. "Nothing wrong at all."

"Actually," Magnus said with a strange smile. "This could be useful. Think about it. A girl with the power to fight demons without a weapon. That kind of power, that's something Valentine has never seen before. Something he won't be prepared for. Combine that with Jace's fighting and Clary's runes, and you've got something to be reckoned with."

"No," Derek said loudly, giving Magnus a murderous look. "You will not be using Chloe to help in your war. I've heard of Valentine, and I won't let her have anything to do with it."

Magnus laughed. "Do you really think that by hiding Chloe you can protect her? Valentine is a hunter, and guess what he's hunting? People like you, people like me, people who aren't human. If he finds out about Chloe's powers, he'll want her even more." Magnus held up his hands in his defense. "Now, I'm willing to hide you, but I can tell you with certainty: Valentine will never stop hunting you. He will chase you to the ends of the earth. You escaped the Edison Group, but you haven't gotten him off your trail yet."

"We'll hide, we've done it before," said Simon stoutly, sensing his brother's growing anger.

"Yes, well where did that get you?"

It was Jace, and he sounded sharp and angry. His yellow eyes were glowing fiercely and he was making a face that clearly read as sarcasm. He leaned forward and smiled widely at Derek. "I'll tell you where it got you. It got you back with the Edison Group. You ran off on your own, and they tracked you down and dragged you back."

Derek had almost always liked Jace. There had been some indecision when they first met, but as they got to know each other, Derek had come to appreciate Jace. He was very mature and very well trained as a fighter. He seemed to be the kind of young man Derek needed around to protect his family. Now, though, Derek wanted to lunge at Jace and shake him silly. Instead, he growled low in his throat.

"It's not that," said Chloe, taking Derek's hand and squeezing gently. "It's just that we have no control over ourselves. We would be a liability to your cause."

"Better a liability than a weapon," said Alec suddenly. "What's the worst that's going to happen, really? You try, you might get yourself killed. You don't try, you die for sure, because Valentine will hunt you down and kill you. He hates what you are."

"It this how you recruit people normally?" asked Rae with a smirk. "I can understand why the shadowhunter are on the out."

"It's the truth," said Alec with a shrug. "You can hide, and prove Valentine right- that your kind really are cowards-"

"Jace and Clary are two of _our kind_!" snarled Tor.

"-or you can fight right alongside with us. I'm sure your help would be useful, maybe even key, to our victory over Valentine."

"It's true," said Magnus. "He won't be ready for something like you. He won't even know what to make of you. That could be valuable."

"He barely knows about Clary and Jace," added Isabelle. "Think what will happen once he sees what they can do. By then, it'll be too late."

Clary leaned over the seat, her side brushing against Jace, and she felt warm and powerful. Not like she had the last few months. She didn't feel hurt or scared or confused about who and what she was. She felt like she was in control of her life for once. She said, very slowly and deliberately, "You might owe us this much. You know what Valentine is like, you've heard about him from Jace. We did just help save your life." She frowned. "It's the least you can do."

"There's no way we can help you," Simon said helplessly. "We're not even in control of our new powers. We don't know how to use them. We could hurt you."

"Well, Jace and I don't know about our powers yet either, but we're still willing to learn." Clary took Simon's hand and squeezed it in a friendly way. "You've got Magnus here to teach your and Tori and Rae. My mom's friend Luke can help Derek. And me and Jace and Chloe can all work together. We can do this, all of us, together."

Simon and Derek looked to one and other uncertainly. They both knew whatever decision they made, the girls would follow. Derek glanced at Chloe, and knew from the look in her eyes that she was stronger than he had ever considered. He sighed to himself and nodded to Simon.

"Okay," Derek said slowly. "We'll try, that's it, though. If we decide we can't do it, or we don't want to do it, we can quit. Alright?"Derek's voice had grown to a frustrated growl by the end, and his eyes were glowing.

"So," said Jace, watching the way Derek was staring at anyone who looked too closely at him. "Where exactly are we headed with Tori as the driver? The mall?"

"Been there and done that, cupcake," said Magnus. "Tori's mother, Mrs. Enright has so kindly paid for your new clothes which Tori purchased. I believe they're in the back of the car. And, now that I'm thinking of Mrs. Enright, you might want to remove those tracking chips from your person before we get on the express way."

There were a few moments of painful silence while the children cut the trackers off their bodies, some with a little help from Isabelle and Alec's handy daggers. Once they were off, Magnus took them all in his hand and squeezed. There was a crackling sound and the remains of burnt tracking devices dribbled out of his hand and out the window. The children watched them go with smiles on their faces; they really were free.

"Now that that's taken care of," said Magnus, "we can head on to my house."

"We can't all fit in your apartment," pointed out Clary. "It's too small no matter what you do."

"I have a country home," shrugged Magnus. "That's where we've been hiding and it's perfectly safe for some runaway children. Plenty of space, but you'll have to share room. Not," he added, smiling wickedly at Jace, "that I think you'll mind. You seem to share a room with Clary _very _well."

Clary blushed a little and Jace smiled widely. "We make excellent roommates."

"We can work out sleeping arrangements another time," said Alec, looking pointedly at Max, who was staring avidly at Jace.

Jace winked down at Max. "How are you, kid?"

Max, who had been staring avidly at Jace for a while, gasped when Jace addressed him. He had spent the last few months thinking he was never going to see Jace again that having him suddenly so near was like an early Christmas. "I can't believe we finally got you away from them. It was all my fault. If I had just told Alec or Isabelle what I heard my parents saying, then maybe they would have stopped you from going out that night. Even though it really wasn't their fault, I mean, they weren't working for the Edison Group, but it still could have stopped everything-"

"Your parents?" Jace said sharply. "What have Robert and Myrse got to do with this?"

"Well, they were working for Valentine," said Max simply. His eyes widened when he remembered how much Jace had missed. "You didn't know that."

"You parents knew I was in danger?" Jace's eyes darted up to Alec and Isabelle. "What do you mean?"

"Jace," said Isabelle pleadingly. "Maybe once we get to Magnus's-"

"They are working for Valentine," said Max over his sister. "He asked them to send you to Pandemonium so one of his demons could get you."

"Did they now?" Jace said, looking at Alec and Isabelle. "So that's why you're staying with Magnus? That's why they're not with you…"

"Jace," said Isabelle, and she was frowning now, her eyes shaded by her lashes. "They really regret what happened. I mean, when they were trying to explain what happened…"

But there seemed to be nothing Isabelle could say that was going to make it any better for Jace. Clary turned to him and rested her head on his shoulder, her arms wound tight about him. She knew how much the Lightwoods had meant to him after he'd learned about his father. She knew how much, though he hid it well, Jace loved them. And they had betrayed him to the man who had tortured him for ten years. Clary felt Jace's body, tense beneath hers, and she kissed him gently on the cheek.

"They must have had a reason," she said softly.

Jace looked down at her and smiled, but it was small and painful. "I see I've missed a lot of things. You're going to have to catch me up on these," he added to Alec with a hard look.

Alec nodded mutely. "We'll explain everything once we get to the house."

The rest of the ride was in comparative silence. Neither Alec nor Isabelle wanted to talk much, because they knew anything else they had to say mattered a lot to Jace. Clary wanted to sit against Jace and relax with the knowledge that he was beside her. Chloe and Derek were content to sit side by side and enjoy the feeling of warmth and protection that was just now taking root in them. Simon was leaning back in his seat, though every now and then, he would feel Isabelle's eyes on him and look at her. Magnus was busy giving Tori directions. And Rae was watching everything, her eyes guarded and her mind on her mother.

They drove for hours, speeding past bustling cities and rolling green hills. Eventually, they entered a medium sized city with hundreds of people who didn't seem to care about a car full of strangely dressed teenagers. Magnus directed Tori to an abandoned alleyway tucked tightly between an office building and a bar. Tori pulled the car up before the bar, and they all piled out. Together, they all removed the bags of clothing from the trunk and trooped down the alley. There, Magnus began drawing the marks for portal. After a moment, the marks along the wall glowed and a greenish hole began to form in the wall.

"Who would like to go first?" Magnus asked, casting a smile over his shoulder. "Any takers?"

"Oh, shove over," said Tori, stepping up and staring shrewdly at the portal. "We just step through it, right?"

"Foot over foot," shrugged Magnus.

Tori tossed her hair back and squared her shoulders before she passed Magnus and stepped through the portal. Soon after she went, the other children followed, passing through the glowing green light and arriving on the other side. The last to go was Magnus, who glanced over his shoulder, half expecting the strange boy with the blonde hair to arrive and chase him down.

On the other side of the portal, Magnus found the children idling around the porch. Derek and Chloe and Simon and Tori were especially interested in the house before them. Jace didn't seem too impressed with the country home, and instead was staring around him with a blank look in his eyes. The only thing that seemed to make even a bit of emotion flit across his face was when Clary brushed him, or when Max clutched his hand. And Isabelle and Alec were looking back at him, anticipation in their eyes.

"Well, go on. Let's not stand in the cold all day," Magnus called, making a shooing gesture toward the door.

Isabelle led the way, followed closely by Alec, then Max and Jace and Clary, and then the rest of the children in a pile. They crossed through threshold and looked around, curious to see how a High Warlock lived, and they were pleasantly surprised. It was large open place, with a high ceiling and wide windows that let in a large amount of sunlight. This first room, which they took to be living room, gave way to a kitchen with charming wood floors and paneling. The kitchen passed into a dining room, and, tucked in the corner of the room, was set of stairs that led up.

"There were two more stories to this house, and I want them filled," Magnus ordered. "That means you won't all be squeezing into one room. As many rooms filled as you can."

"I never you were such a proponent of morals and chastity," Jace chuckled, swinging Clary into his arms and toward a single bedroom. Magnus made to go after him, but paused as he saw the way Jace clutched at Clary. He was holding onto her like she was the most important thing in his life. Right then, she probably was, so he just drifted back toward the other children.

Since Jace and Clary had claimed one room, and Isabelle, Max, Alec, and Magnus, all had rooms on the second floor, Derek and Simon led the other children up to a set of rooms all very nicely furnished and all very comfortable. Derek ignored Magnus's command, of course, and told Chloe she could have the bed and he would sleep on the floor. Simon took the room right next door to Derek. Across from Simon, Rea shacked up, and beside her Tori took the last room.

It was very different from the rooms at Lyle House. The windows all opened, and even though it was beginning to get chilly outdoors, the children threw the windows wide. The beds were older and more comfortable. The blankets were soft and careworn. The furniture dated back to different centuries and all complimented each other. But, most important to the Lyle House children, was the sense of protection and watchfulness that fell over the house. They knew they were safe there, though they didn't quite know why.

For a while, they settled in, adjusting to the new setting and trying to get the room the way they like it. Derek was making a bed for himself on the floor when Chloe reached over and pulled everything onto the mattress. She gave him a quick look and then smiled sadly. "Do you really think that's necessary?" Derek tried to look serious, but he watched the blankets and pillows fall on the bed with anticipation glowing in his eyes.

Simon and Tori adjusted the same way, though they didn't know it. They both made things shoot around their rooms with magic before falling back on their pillows and laughing at what they had done. Then, they went about, fixing things and setting up their new possessions. Hanging up clothes and then admiring them from a view.

Rae was the only one who didn't seem perfectly at ease. She wandered around her room, exploring the new dimensions and trying to figure out how Tori knew her size clothing. Afterwards, she sat on her bed, staring out the window and making small fires spring to life on her hands. She was thinking of her mother, and where the woman might be right now.

Clary and Jace had thrown their things down quickly before leaving their room. There wasn't much here they hadn't expected; they knew Magnus too well to really be surprised. They had gone downstairs, into the dining room and were sitting at the table, waiting to see what Alec and Isabelle had to say about their parents.

Alec was the first to come in, carrying a plate of leftovers. He set it before Jace and Clary, almost like, Clary thought, an offering to appease them. Her lips quirked up in something of a smile before she could help herself. Jace stared at the food like it was poison, and then glared up at Alec. He wasn't pleased with the idea. The stare between Jace and Alec lingered for a minute before Isabelle came in, carrying Max. Jace, never having seen Isabelle in a maternal light, was caught off guard for a minute and stared at her.

"Jace!" Max cried, and scrabbled out of Isabelle's arms and over to his chair.

"Calm down, kid," Jace rasped as Max clambered onto his lap and settled himself there. "I need my legs still."

"Max," Isabelle sighed, waving him over. "I told you I was taking you to bed, not bringing you here for a meet and greet. Come on, you already ate."

"But I want to stay with Jace and Clary, and hear all about the Edison Group." Max turned his eyes on Jace. "You'll tell me, won't you?"

As much as Jace wanted to smirk over at Alec and Isabelle and sit Max down and tell him everything, a part of him wasn't willing to put more nightmares in the child's head. Max already blamed himself for what was happening between him and the Lightwoods, and there wasn't going to be comfort in hearing what Jace had to say. He picked Max up and deposited him carefully on the floor with a serious look.

"Go on, Max. Go to bed, like Isabelle told you." He tried to look stern, but a smile broke his face. "I promise, nothing happened there that would interest you. There are no horror stories of lab experiments, and no nightmares about men in white coats with needles. It was all very boring compared to what you've been up to."

Max frowned. "You're lying, and I know it," he said, but it seemed like having Jace to boss him around was better than Isabelle or Alec, so he rolled his eyes and stalked out of the room. Isabelle followed him to the door, before joining her brother.

"He trusts you," Jace said simply to Isabelle. "I've never seen him like that before."

"Max didn't have a choice," Isabelle said, eyes lowered. "His mother and father betrayed him."

"They betrayed _me_," Jace said, emotion turning his voice raw. "I trusted them, and they were just waiting for the right time to hand me over to Valentine." Jace shook his head and tore the food on the plate before them apart with his fork. "So, how is dear old dad?"

"Jace," Clary said, tearing his hands off a piece of ruined bread. "Don't. Stop calling him that."

Jace smiled sickly. "Then who should I call father? He raised me, didn't he? He taught me everything I knew. If not Valentine, who? Robert? The man who was willing to hand me over after everything he heard?"

"What about Luke?" Clary asked.

"He's a werewolf," was Jace's only answer.

"And so what?" came Magnus's voice, as he appeared in the door. "I'm a warlock and I saved your life. Derek is a werewolf, and he's almost like a brother to you. Why are you so bitter now? You have friends who care about you. A sister and brothers who adore you. A girl who obviously loves you. And you complain all over the place about it." Magnus dropped into a seat and snapped his fingers. A plate full of food appeared before him. "Time to put the big boy pants on because we've got a lot of problems that need solving."

Jace looked mutinous, but Clary tugged his shirt and he fell silent. "Okay," Alec said, waiting a moment to make sure Jace wasn't going to interrupt. "It's a bad situation. Valentine is calling back all his old friends to the Circle. He's got a plan to take over the Clave, and we think you and Clary have something to do with it. There's also this boy who works for him whose running around, looking for us. He's got blonde hair and dark and eyes, and he's pretty tall."

"So he could be anyone," Jace smirked.

"He's dangerous," Isabelle said quickly. "I've seen him do some fighting and it's not fun to watch. I've never seen someone fight like him. Not even you," Isabelle added to Jace. "He's looking for us all over, and if Magnus didn't have such good wards around this place, he would have found us."

"And he works for Valentine?" Clary asked.

"Yes," Alec cut in. "And Valentine it taking over everywhere. He's got people in all parts of the Clave, but especially in the working ones. Like our parents. People with enough influence to cause problems."

"This is going to be a problem, isn't it?" Clary asked softly. "He'll be looking for us, Jace."

"He might kill us when he finds us," Jace added.

"Whatever he's going to do," Alec said, "We need to help stop him. With your extra powers that should be easy enough, right?"

"Alec we don't even know how to use these powers. How can we help fight?" Jace asked tiredly. "We're as valuable as all the others."

"You know how to fight," Isabelle said sternly. "You can't pretend you don't."

Jace paled a little. How was he supposed to tell them that he hadn't fought in a while, that he was a little nervous to? He couldn't afford to lose control again, and it had happened before. What would they do with him once they knew the truth? He turned to Clary, who knew what he was thinking.

Clary just raised her eyebrows skeptically. "We're willing to help. It's just going to be hard. Neither of us is sure how these powers might affect us in battle. We could hurt someone if we're not careful."

Isabelle frowned ever so slightly before smiling and looking to her brother and Magnus. "Well, if we're lucky, that someone could be Valentine."


	16. Tying Up Loose Ends

Tying Up Loose Ends

Dr. Davidoff stood before Mrs. Enright and glared at her. She stared back with a frown and narrowed eyes. It might have been her fault that the children had escaped, but she wasn't going to admit that to Dr. Davidoff. She would always blame him. He had been so foolish as to allow those children the right to move around, to give them some freedoms. And this is how things like that ended. Mrs. Enright crossed her arms and glared with all her might.

"This is your fault, and you know it, Davidoff," she hissed. "If you hadn't been such a soft-hearted half-demon those children would still be in out clutches."

"Excuse me, Enright, but you were all for leaving that message on Jace's phone. Did you think the Lightwoods wouldn't have come for him? You gave them everything they needed to find us."

"I hardly see how one message on a phone would lead some children all the way here. We both know this is all because you gave those freaks freedom they didn't deserve-"

"We would have gotten nothing out of them if we locked them up like you wanted. They would have gone completely insane locked up. They needed some freedom!"

Mrs. Enright snarled and threw her hands up. "You idiot! Do you think I care about their sanity? Do you think it makes one little bit of difference if they were comfortable? I was the one who wanted them in cages, locked up, and very much under our watch. That's what we should have done the moment we got them here."

"No," snapped Davidoff. "It doesn't make a difference where they were kept. The Lightwoods still would have come for them, and they would have found them. And if they were locked up in cages, the Lightwoods would have gotten them out. They had the help of a powerful warlock."

"Powerful warlock?" laughed Mrs. Enright. "Just because he bested you doesn't make him a powerful warlock. I'm sure if I had been here things would have ended differently."

"Don't kid yourself," seethed Davidoff. "I was there. I saw what happened. Whoever he was, he wasn't just some hired teenager helper. He was a trained warlock, and they had obviously planned the breakout together. They wouldn't have been able to do that if you hadn't left that message on Jace's cell phone. But no, you had to scare them, you had to make a show." Davidoff spun around, looking at the empty nursery they were standing in. "Well, this is what you get. Happy?"

Mrs. Enright took a step closer, looking dangerous. "Be careful, Davidoff. I am still your superior."

"Who cares anymore? Project Genesis is over." Davidoff turned and kicked a pile of pillows that had once been the wall of the children's fort down. He watched them crumble before turning back to Mrs. Enright. "There you have it. You've ruined everything"

Mrs. Enright was about to turn on him with her hands raised to cast a spell, when something narrow and silver shot by her face, just barely missing her. She spun around to the door to find two men standing in the frame. The younger one was smiling slightly, and he had a predatory look in his eyes. The older man was watching impassively, but when his eyes fell on Mrs. Enright, his eyes hardened with some emotion she couldn't place.

"Keep that dagger out, Jonathan; I think we may need it still," the older man ordered, and then advanced forward.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Mrs. Enright demanded. "This is private property, and it belongs to me. We do not allow visitors to just stop in for a visit. Davidoff," she called over her shoulder. "Get them out of here." Mrs. Enright waited a moment, and when she didn't hear Davidoff moving forward to help her, she turned about. "No!"

The dagger, that had so narrowly missed Mrs. Enright's face, had lodged itself very deeply in Dr. Davidoff's chest. It stuck out of his body strangely, looking very much out of place in his soft flesh. Davidoff was lying on the floor, gasping for his last breaths while his lungs fill with blood. Mrs. Enright didn't drop to her knees to help him, or even protect him, she just stared and watched as he died. It happened quickly, with that last spluttering breath, and then a death rattle.

"See that's funny." Mrs. Enright spun back around to stare at the two men. The older man was speaking now, and he smirking. "I heard you just hosted a couple visitors. In fact, not just any old visitors, but some people I know. A few shadowhunters, and even an old warlock."

"Old being the operative word," replied Mrs. Enright coldly.

"Oh, he's very old, trust me." The man was now a few feet away from Mrs. Enright, but he didn't seem to care, or every worry about it. Mrs. Enright suspected he found her funny from the amused glint in his eye. "And if you're going to let riffraff like that in here, I suppose me stopping by should be a cause for celebration. Don't you recognize me?"

"No," she replied, preparing to cast a spell toward the man. "And I don't care who you are, or what you want. You should leave now."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said, smiling now. "You have something that belongs to me. Well, I say you have it, but I suppose the proper term is _had_ it. Because I do think it's gone now, isn't it?"

"What are you going on about?" demanded Mrs. Enright, her fingers burning her palms now.

"The children. Two of them." He stepped closer, and he was inches from Mrs. Enright. "_My_ children that you took and locked up. I know you had them, were experimenting on them, and I don't appreciate it."

"Valentine," breathed Mrs. Enright, but the fear that had started to unfurl in her chest fled with that breath. She smiled at him wickedly. "Ah, yes, Clarissa's dear old father, and, if I'm not mistaken, stepfather to young Jace. Yes, I suppose we could call you stepfather, though the truth is so much darker."

"Call me what it pleases you to call me, Mrs. Enright, it makes no difference."

"Oh, but it does," she laughed. "I should have told Jace the truth, shouldn't I? About how you pulled his tiny infant self out of his mother's corpse? That would have made for a good bedtime story."

Valentine watched her carefully, though his face never betrayed any emotion. He knew Mrs. Enright could be dangerous. "It doesn't matter what you want to tell him now. It seems that Jace has escaped you, just like he did me."

"It wasn't my fault, though," she said triumphantly, but then shook her head and flicked her gaze over to the boy. "And who is this scarp, Valentine? Did you butcher another corpse for this boy?"

The boy narrowed his eyes at the name but didn't move a muscle. "That," Valentine said, sensing Jonathan's frustration, "is my son, Jonathan."

"Son, is he?"

"Yes, I am," hissed Jonathan. "I'm not abandoned brat dropped on my father's doorstep. I'm a Morgenstern."

Mrs. Enright's smile widened. "I believe your father _adopted _that brat. Whatever Jace was, he certainly wasn't dropped on the doorstep." The sick look on Jonathan's face urged Mrs. Enright on. "He was _loved_, he was _wanted._ Your father wanted Jace to be a part of their family, not so much like you, is he?"

"Silence!" snarled Jonathan, slashing the dagger through the air.

"Jonathan," warned Valentine, but his eyes never left Mrs. Enright.

"Temper, temper, boy." Mrs. Enright turned her gaze back on Valentine and she sighed. "It's true, of course, that the children have escaped. Run off with the Lightwoods and their helpful warlock. I've got no idea where, if you're wondering."

Valentine stared long and hard at Mrs. Enright. She was an apt liar, and was good at hiding her emotions. But the longer he stared at her, the more he knew she was telling the truth. It was written all over her face that although she didn't have Clary and Jace, neither did Valentine. He frowned, eyes lingering on her glowing hands.

"Then you're useless to me," he said simply.

"As are you to me, Valentine," she returned. "And I dispose of useless things properly, unlike you and your poor excuses for children."

Mrs. Enright threw her hands up at the same instant that Valentine swung the Soul Sword through the air. Maybe it was that she had never met with any competition, maybe it was her self-assured attitude, but Mrs. Enright wasn't ready for the blade that sliced the air in two. Her spell missed Valentine and rebounded off the wall behind him, setting it on fire. Valentine's sword, though, was true to his aim. The blade cut a perfect line through Mrs. Enright's throat. When Valentine stopped moving he examined the blade, dripping a small stream of blood off the handle, and Mrs. Enright dropped to her knees clutching her throat.

"Useless is what she was," said Jonathan, for all the chaos around him, calmly. "We have no clue where those two have gone to." Jonathan aimed a kick at the dead woman. "We have nothing."

Valentine cleaned the blade off and slid it back into its sheath. "Yes, we do. We know for sure now that Clarissa and Jace are with the Lightwoods and Bane. And that is all we really need."

Valentine turned on his heel and strolled from the room, Jonathan followed in his wake. All around them, flames were springing up, eating the blankets and toys, the pillows and books. Smoke billowed out into the hall and people were running around madly, trying to find a way to escape the burning building. Jonathan and Valentine continued their comfortable walk toward the door, Valentine musing.

"What do you mean, Father?" asked Jonathan, watching the glass from a window explode outward. "We have no idea where the Lightwood children are."

Valentine shook his head and threw open the front doors of the building. "That doesn't matter anymore. Clarissa and Jace are with them, so where the Lightwoods go, they will follow. We just need to draw them out into the open."

"With what?" asked Jonathan curiously. "I don't think there is anything you could offer the Lightwood brats that would turn them against Jace and Clary."

Valentine gave his son a considering look and then smiled with no warmth or happiness. "I could offer them their parents' lives."

* * *

><p>Night was settling around Magnus's house, the stars were coming out in the dark sky, glinting like diamonds. The windows were aglow, yellow light spilling out onto the grassy slopes of the lawns. Nothing seemed to be stirring around the house, it was if the creatures knew something less than human was lingering behind the walls and so stayed clear of the place.<p>

Suddenly, the darkness stirred around the house. Two figures, one tall and lanky, the other lean and leonine, emerged from the shadows and stepped into the silvery light. The shorter figure looked to the other one, seemed to hesitate a moment, and then spoke.

"Magnus, you're sure this message won't be intercepted before Luke gets it?"

Magnus blinked, trying to look offended, but he just didn't seem to have the effort for it anymore. Especially when it came to Jace. "Yes, I'll make sure it's delivered directly to his hands and no one else's. Can't you trust in my powers yet? They saved your life."

Jace bristled at being reminded of it, but he turned and shrugged, looking out over the grass. "Just don't send it to any other Luke's you know."

Magnus snatched the letter from Jace hands and crumpled it in his palm. There was a small flash that illuminated the ground around them, and then darkness fell again. "Taken care of."

Jace turned to thank Magnus, but paused when saw the warlock. There was something about his hooded eyes that reminded Jace of sadness. "What's between you and Alec?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Magnus's eyes popped open at that. "Curious or jealous?"

"Humor me."

"Well, I don't completely know, do I?" Magnus crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at Jace. "I suppose that depends what's between Alec and _you_."

Jace paled a little. "He's my brother, if that's what you mean. And I love Clary."

"I know that," Magnus sighed, stepped up to Jace's side. "I've seen the way you look at her. But I've also seen the way Alec watches you. He can't have you, he knows that. He's convinced himself of it. But that won't stop him from wanting you, and that's a problem."

"I'm not trying to cause any problems," Jace said simply, and Magnus was shocked to hear the honesty in the boy's voice. "I have enough problems of my own."

Magnus gave the shadowhunter boy a sideways look. "Yes, I suppose you do, though what those are, I guess I'll never know."

Jace was quiet for a while, thinking of the message to Luke and of his father and of Clary. When he spoke, it was softly. "I used to live in a manor house like this, out in the country of Idris."

Magnus glanced at Jace but didn't speak.

"I lived with my father. Valentine. I remember how peaceful it always seemed. We had escaped the city and all its inhabitants." Jace turned to face Magnus squarely. "That's what this all reminds me of, you know? Because even though we lived in country, and everything seemed peaceful, it really wasn't. Valentine was a monster, and half the time I admired him, the half I feared him. It feels like that now. We've escaped the Edison Group to this place, but the peace here isn't going to last for long either. We've got bigger problems coming our way."

Magnus stood silent for a while longer, feeling slightly confused. He didn't think that Jace was ever going to share something so personal with him. He drew his hands behind his back and sighed. "We're going to have to run the shadow. We'll stay here a while longer, long enough to contact Luke anyway, and then we'll make plans to go. I don't think Valentine will be idle for much longer."

"No, no he won't be. He'll be coming this way soon, and if he can't find us here, he'll try to bring us to him."

"We'll have to take extra care then not to fall into any of his traps," agreed Magnus, and then he turned back to his house. "But I don't think standing out here in the growing cold will make this any easier. Let's go inside, shall we?"

Jace turned away from the starlight and darkness and back into the warm house. Isabelle was sitting in a room, trying to concentrate on a book when he closed the door. She looked up, and it might have been from the lost look on his face, or the way he sighed, but Isabelle seemed to know what he was looking for. "If you're thinking about Clary, she's up in your room getting ready for bed."

When Jace pushed the door open, he found Clary sitting on the bed, staring at her hands. He inched into the room and waited until Clary looked up at him before he came any closer. When he settled onto the bed beside her, Clary fell against his shoulder and smiled up at him.

"So, are you settling in well?" Clary asked.

"Well, I'm settling in." Jace laid back and rested his head one the pillows. "I'm feeling pretty nice now, though." He looked pointedly at Clary and winked. "Come here."

Clary leaned back and tucked herself against Jace's side. "I'm doing pretty good myself right now."

"If I were you, I would be too," Jace laughed, and then closed his eyes. "I think we'll be safe here for a little while. Enough time for us to relax and recover and plan. Magnus seems to have a good grip on the hiding thing."

Clary watched Jace breathe in and out, but didn't say anything. He was too tired to stay awake, and slipped into sleep easily. As Clary watched him, she thought of his life, of his childhood, and of his father. Valentine was looking for them, that much was obvious, and he must know that he wasn't Jace's real father. Would Valentine still want Jace if he found them? She shivered and pressed herself closer to Jace. What if Valentine hurt him?

_That won't happen, _Clary vowed silently. _I won't let anything to happen to Jace. If Valentine finds us _I'll_ fight him._

Clary's arms tightened around Jace and she rested her head against his chest. They had escaped the Edison Group, that was what mattered. They were safe here with Magnus for now, and that was what mattered. Clary could figure out the future later, for now, she just wanted to sleep unafraid by Jace's side, and that was what mattered the most.

The next room over, Isabelle was sitting on Max's bed, trying to tell him an interesting story to help him sleep. He had been bugging her for the truth about Jace and Clary's imprisonment with the Edison Group, but she kept up a steady stream of memories from her childhood. Max knew that Jace just next door, but he was kept on his bed by Isabelle.

"…then the smell of burnt toast woke mom and dad up and they thought we had started the house on fire."

Max scrunched up his nose at the thought of his parents, and rolled his eyes. "I want to talk to Jace," he said. "I want to know what was happening at that laboratory!"

"Max, you heard Jace, it was nothing." Isabelle pressed Max down into his bed and tucked the covers in. "Tomorrow morning, we'll talk to Jace, and I'm sure he'll tell you anything important."

"Promise?"

"I'll sit him down myself," Isabelle confirmed, and she rose from the bed and headed to the door. "Just go to bed for tonight."

Max watched the door close and lay back on his pillow. The darkness that covered the room was so complete and so different from that in New York that Max curled up a little closer to himself. He was about to get up and find Isabelle's room when he thought of the room next door. Jace. Jace was sleeping there, probably with Clary, but that didn't matter. If Jace was fine sleeping in the darkness, he, Max, should be okay too. He rolled onto his back and thought of Jace, who was never afraid, who wouldn't let a little darkness scare him. Max closed his eyes forcefully and made himself sleep.

Across from Max, Isabelle slipped into bed and relaxed for the first time in months. Everything was falling back into place. Jace and Clary were back, they were safe. Valentine couldn't find them as long as they were hiding here. When Isabelle closed her eyes, the image of the Simon boy, the young warlock, rose to her mind. He was pretty cute for a Downworlder. Hell, he was just pretty cute. Isabelle smiled a little to herself and then rolled on her side.

The darkness was doing wonders for Derek and Chloe one floor up. They were curled up on the same bed, playing with each other's hands. It was a strange thing for them to be resting and not be keeping a watch at the same time. Derek didn't have to keep turning his head to pick up random sounds in the night, and Chloe was lying in the circle of his arms with her eyes closed. It was a nice change of pace for both of them.

"Do you think we really can learn to fight against Valentine?" Chloe asked without opening her eyes. "I mean, really be useful to the shadowhunters?"

Derek shrugged. "It's possible. You, especially, have some skill that could be put to good use. I think if we learn to control ourselves we might be able to stump Valentine."

Chloe pressed herself closer to Derek, and inhaled just slightly. He smelled like a damp forest and clean cotton. "We do sorta own the shadowhunters a little bit of help, it's just that I'm tired of living this life of constant…_war_, I guess is the word. I just want to go back to the way things were."

Carefully turning so Chloe didn't move, but Derek was inches from her face, he kissed her and said, "I don't think you can go back, but we can always go forward, together."

Chloe opened her eyes when Derek kissed her and smiled a little when he spoke. "Together. I could do that."

As Derek and Chloe drifted off the sleep, Simon was pulling his covers back when a knock on his door made him jump. It opened on its own, and Tori stood in the frame, looking a little lost. She saw Simon sitting on his bed and smiled weakly.

"Can we talk?"

Simon raised his eyebrows. "Sure, why not?"

Tori passed into the room carefully and settled on the bed, as far away from him as she could. "So, I guess, there's some weird stuff that happened at the Edison Group place." She looked up pointedly.

"Weird is an understatement, Tori," Simon said with a chuckle. "I mean, I knew they were weird, but towards the end there, things got out of hand."

"Yeah." Tori looked around the room, trying to bring up the subject most important to her. It was hard, too, with Simon just sitting there waiting for her to speak. "But about that."

"What?" Simon said sharply.

"Well," Tori finally turned her eyes on him. "I mean, the whole thing about me and you, what my mom said." When Simon didn't say anything, Tori sighed. "We're related, Simon," she blurted out.

Simon blushed a little. "Yeah, I figured you'd want to talk about that."

"Yeah I kind of do." Tori stood up, excess energy coursing through her. "We're brother and sister, at least a little."

Simon gave Tori a long look. "We are, Tori. And I guess that must mean something to you."

Tori face paled a little and then hardened. "Well, it does. Unlike you, I've never had siblings, but if you don't care, I can just forget it." She stood to go, but Simon caught her hand.

"That's not what I meant." She stood up quickly. "I'll be your brother, Tori; I won't pretend you're not my sister. It's okay. I just meant that it must have been a big thing for you to hear it."

"It was," Tori said quietly, looking at her hand in Simon's-in her brother's. "I just didn't know how you were going to take it."

Simon smiled warmly. "It's nice. I've only ever had Derek around. A sister can be just as nice."

Tori pressed her lips together to hide the smile on her face, but it came through anyway. Very carefully, measuring to see what Simon was going to do, she stepped closer and let her arms wrap around Simon in a weak sort of hug. Simon laughed at her attempt and squeezed harder. "Don't you know how to hug a person, Tori? Especially if that person is your bother?"

Below all of the children, on the bottom floor of the house, Magnus was sitting before the fire, staring at the flames. He watched the wood catch and spark, and then the sparks shot out, little desperate surges of light. Magnus frowned.

"What wrong, Magnus?" Alec sat down opposite him, his eyes wary.

"Something's happening, Alec," he said slowly. "We've outrun one enemy, but we have another coming for us now." He was about to mention his conversation with Jace, but he didn't want that name anywhere around Alec. "We're going to have to think on out feet to figure this out. We've got people on all sides of us, and none of them good."

Alec stared for a long time at Magnus. "You don't have to help us, you know."

Magnus laughed. "Yes, I do. What does it matter if I fight and we lose? I'll be killed. If I don't fight and we lose, I'll still be killed. The only option is to fight." He shot a look at Alec. "Don't worry about me, Alec, I'm sure I can protect myself."

"I'm not worried about that," said Alec quickly.

Magnus looked mildly offended. "Of course you're not."

"That's not what I meant!" Alec protested, raising his hands into the air. "I just didn't want you to think that I was treating you like a kid. I mean, I know you can take care of yourself. I just-" Alec cut off at the look of amusement on Magnus's face. "You know what I mean, don't you?"

"Yes, Alexander, I do." Magnus stretched catlike and stood. "I'm just saying that we have a long road ahead of us. The end of the Edison Group is not the end of our problems. We still have Valentine to deal with, and his will not be so easy a solution." Magnus's eyes fell on the fire again. "It will come to war, Alec, I know it."

Alec's eyes widened. "War? It can't possible come to that. The Clave is still in power!"

"But for how long?" pressed Magnus. "Valentine is no fool, and he seems very sure of himself. If he's sure of himself, we should be sure of him. I think dark times are ahead of us."

"There already are hard times," Alec muttered.

"They were hard times for _us_, but the rest of the world is about to feel Valentine's wrath, and it's going to be terrible." Magnus looked hard at Alec. "You know that, right?"

Alec looked thoughtful. "He's coming for Clary and Jace, isn't he?"

"Highly possible," shrugged Magnus. "But keeping him away from his children may be our most important priority. He obviously needs them for something."

Alec looked tiredly at the fire. Everything seemed to be happening too fast, and just too much of it. He made room for Magnus on the couch he was sitting on, hoping that Magnus might join him. To his relief, Magnus flopped down next to him, and placed a hand on his lap. It made a world of difference to have Magnus's presence, and, Alec realized, a huge difference from Jace.

Where Jace had been thoughtless action and wild motivation, Magnus was thoughtful and considerate. He was dangerous, oh yes, as much as Jace, but he was a bit wiser, and it was calming. Alec leaned against Magnus and Magnus's skin seemed to glow a bit.

"We can rise to meet it, Magnus. We're stronger than Valentine."

"Perhaps not stronger," Magnus mused. "Just better."

**End of Part Two**

**Part Three will continue in **

**Darkest Angels **


End file.
